Life's a game
by watchtoomanyshows-fangirl
Summary: What happens when Aria runs into an unexpected confidant in the weirdest places after being left sole guardian of her younger brother..
1. Chapter 1

**What happens when Aria runs into an unexpected confidant in the weirdest places after being left sole guardian of her younger brother...**

_Come on, come on, come on._  
_Kiss quick, I've got a line out the door_  
_Who all think they can save me._  
_Oh, one by one they lay the world at my feet._  
_One by one they drive me crazy._

_Shut your mouth,_  
_Pull me out before this all goes grey._  
_One by one they lay the world at my feet._  
_One by one they go away._  
_They go away._  
_They go away._

_Sell my blood for money,_  
_baby, baby._  
_And I love how it feels._

_This year, all but disappears._

Walking down the corridor, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. It was silent, but not too silent to raise alarm. There was no screaming or sibling fighting coming from the top level. There was no parental trying to calm the situation. No heavenly-smelling cooked breakfast already set on the kitchen counter. Only the soft buzz of the birds chirping and the cars passing by on the morning roads.

This has been the norm for the past year.

Aria Montgomery was a 20 year old struggling college student working 2-jobs, who was teetering the edge of losing her mind.

You see, last year as part of Aria's belated birthday present, Ella Montgomery who was 7 months into her pregnancy with a baby girl already named, Scarlett, and her husband Zac were flying from Vienna back into Rosewood to surprise her children Aria and Mike and settle back into American culture and prepare for the birth of their newborn child.

However, as they were flying into Rosewood, the plane's engine caught fire and sent them spiraling fireball to the ground. A sad twist of fate left them involved in a fatal plane accident that unfortunately took their lives.

This is when things began to spiral out of control for Aria.

Before the accident; Aria was freshly out of school and set to leave for college in New York to live with her boyfriend of 2 years, Noel Kahn, but promising to visit her family back in Rosewood as often as possible; Mike was going to unwillingly leave to Syracuse to live with Byron for a few months until Ella and Zac permanently settled back into Rosewood and things were supposed to be happy and care-free.

This wasn't the case.

On October 25, Aria had invited her friends over for a movie night. As she was lounging on her family couch with her friends and each of their respective partners watching their leading-favourite movie, _Frozen_. In the middle of the _Let It Go_ sing-a-long, Aria carefully excused herself to the kitchen to answer her incessant buzzing phone with an incoming call from an unknown number.

The call that changed everything.

_She couldn't believe it._

_This wasn't happening._

_ This couldn't be happening_.

So she sobbed. Loudly. Screaming at the ceiling, causing her friends to all rush into the kitchen, briefly stop in the doorway to assess the situation but quickly rush to her side and comfort her to the best of their ability without badgering her for information.

"They're gone" she barely muttered through sobs.

She couldn't comprehend what was happening but before she knew it, someone picked her up in their muscular arms and rushed her to the couch. Another voice called Mike and told him that something was wrong, they just didn't know what and to rush home.

The next few days leading up to the funeral were difficult and the Montgomery children were comforted by each other, their friends and distant family whom they haven't had contact with since the holidays and Byron who flew down to Pennsylvania as quickly as possible to be there for his children.

Ella's lawyer spoke to the remaining of the once-whole Montgomery family the day before the funeral to discuss Ella's will. Who would have access to particular assets; what will happen to the children etc. Byron was adamant that Aria and Mike would move to Syracuse with him, however, Aria could see the further pain in Mike's eyes as Byron made this decision on behalf of his children.

As Aria was of legal age, she chose to become Mike's legal guardian by staying in Rosewood instead of heading off to college, to care for her younger brother, with the promise of calling Byron or even seeing him as often as possible.

The Church was filled with old faces, new faces, warm faces, familiar faces, faces... That didn't include their mother.

The Montgomery and Waters family were seated on the first row of pews behind the three coffins at the front of the Church in front of a sea of black-clothed mourners. This was the hard part; when the priest finally called up Aria to say her speech about her mother and the memories they shared and to say final goodbye, Aria shakily stood up trying to keep composure for the sake of her family. She skimmed the crowd. The faces of her friends and family, school faculty and community members warmly watched on urging her to speak up.

The pity looks she gained.. She hated. She hated how now she would be seen as a child who was vulnerable and weak, she didn't want to cry and make her family see that she was unstable but what she didn't realize at the time was that it was fine to cry and feel what she was feeling. But this didn't stop her voice from choking back a sob as she farewelled her mother and the tears to fall - which made the crowd gathered, join her in crying. Half way through her speech as she became overwhelmed with sobs and couldn't stop her walls from breaking down, her friends all rushed up to comfort her and be there for her as she finished.

"My mom is… was a soldier. She was there for me whenever I needed her, even if it was just for a hug. I love you mommy. I wish you were still here with me." She said as she looked to the ceiling and in front to the coffins before continuing "She kept me grounded and gave me pep talks which I took for granted." Briefly stopping for a moment to look around the filled Church, she wildly began heaving and having panicked breaths "oh my God" she whispered "what if she didn't know I loved her and appreciated her. I should have called and spoken to her more. I didn't even say goodbye. No. no. NO NO THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" and had her friends not been there, she would have collapsed in a pile onto the floor.

The cemetery wasn't any better. As the coffins were being lowered into the ground, Aria ran forward and again screamed. She fell to the ground and sobbed. She could sense the people around her watching her fall apart but she couldn't even care what people thought at that moment, she needed her mom back.

"MOMMY! NO MOM DON'T LEAVE ME. PLEASE I NEED YOU!"

Despite not being able to keep her emotions in check, Mike on the other hand kept looking straight ahead both at the Church and as his mother's coffin was being lowered. Looking at Mike from the side, one would think he was stoic and void of any emotions but looking at him straight on, you could tell that his face was tear-stained and he didn't attempt to cover it up.

_'Keep calm, don't do this here.. Not here, not now. You need to be strong for everyone'_ were the thoughts rushing through his head.

But as soon as Aria ran forward and screamed at the coffins being lowered he lost it, this wasn't supposed to be happening, why is it happening to him, what did he do to deserve this? Rushing forward he embraced his older sister in a tight hug and didn't let go as they both sobbed together at the loss of their mother, one that wouldn't get to see them grow up, see them graduate and start a family.

As months flew by they barely got through. Aria was in a daze where she didn't step foot outside the house, barely even remembering to eat. She wouldn't even remember the day or whether it was day or night, the blinds stayed closed so she couldn't see out and no one could see in.

"7:40 am" the bright red symbols showed on the microwave.

"Mike? Breakfast is ready. Come on, you need to get up, it's Monday today, you have school" But all she was met with was the sound of the door locking. This too was normal.

Mike too took it hard, he didn't even return home for two months due to the house being filled left and right with memories that were once cherished, but now are dreaded and only brought on sadness. At first he hardly left is room and was diagnosed with a serious case of depression, didn't speak to anyone. After months he began to spiral out, starting to steal and drink. But one day as he returned home as a rare occurrence, Aria caught him and the situation was not calm at all. With unawareness as she scolded him, he pushed her into a cabinet and almost hit her which snapped him out of his daze. After this incident he began to appreciate his older sister and what she's done and given up for him, realising it's just the two of them from now.

He left his room and they quietly sat at the kitchen table eating their food with the soft murmuring of the TV in the background

"How's school?" she attempted to make small talk

"Fine" he grunted

"Did Byron call you? He said he had something to tell us both and that we should probably be together for the call, I don't know what it's about though, do you?" This caused Mike to hastily look up like Aria just said something unsettling

"What" he whispered in a haze

"NO Mike. Not like that I promise I won't let him take you away. We already went through this, remember little bro, he knows that too." She hurriedly added in with a small smile sensing his thoughts

"Yeah. Of course, you're right" he planted a fake smile on his face and said which Aria caught on to.

Not furthering this line of questioning, they continued eating their basic cereal and tea breakfast in silence with the TV playing in the background before Aria left to drop Mike off for school and head off to college for the start of a new week. 

*** Song: Kiss Quick - Matt Nathanson

**A/N: So this is my first ever fanfic and I know it's pretty shitty but it was stuck in my head so let me know what you think**

**I'm from Australia so I spell some words differently but I spelt "Mum" like "Mom" bc I find it weird in fanfics if that makes sense :/**

**I promise there's going to be so much Ezria but I need to build this up first**

**It's also complete AU if you haven't already noticed:**  
\- Byron is living in Syracuse  
\- Ella was 7 months pregnant when she and Zac died in a plane crash in Vienna coming back to America  
\- Aria is turning 19 and is Mike's legal guardian and has been for the past year  
\- Mike is in his junior year at school and has been getting himself into trouble since Ella died  
\- Ezra was Aria's teacher but they had nothing more than a normal student-teacher relationship.


	2. Chapter 2

This class has drained on for days. The old ratty professor just kept on talking, never has Aria checked the clock as many times as she did today, she couldn't wait to get out of that small stuffy room smelling like odor.

As soon as the clock hit 11am signaling the end of the class, Aria waited… and waited… and waited til the lecturer dismissed them all. Contemplating just gathering her things and leaving, Aria's thoughts were interrupted by the old man dismissing the class. As she hurriedly packed her books and laptop away to get out before the flock of students crammed the steps, she was again interrupted by the old man

"Aria Montgomery please come see me before you leave here"

She groaned. No, no, no. Why her, why today. His face was firm as he again lectured her, this time for her "_ability to make it on time to his lectures each time_" sarcasm dripping from his mouth onto his unshaven, messy beard.

_Life's a game but it's not fair  
I break the rules so I don't care  
So I keep doin' my own thing  
Walkin' tall against the rain  
Victory's within the mile  
Almost there, don't give up now_

_Only thing that's on my mind  
Is who's gonna run this town tonight  
Hey-hey-hey-hey-hey-hey  
Hey-hey-hey-hey-hey  
Hey-hey-hey-hey-hey-hey  
(Is who's gonna run this town tonight)  
Hey-hey-hey-hey_

Aria huffed at the irony of the song radiating through her car speakers playing on the radio and put the volume down as she tried to find a parking spot at the Grille where she was supposed to meet her friends after her morning class… 15 minutes ago.

"Shit" she muttered under her breath as she checked her watch and rushed to get out of her car.

"Hey guys sorry i'm late" Aria rushed in quickly saying before finding a seat on the comfy couch between two of the people that helped her get through the rough patches in her life, Spencer and Hanna and the third who sat on a separate seat across from them, Emily.

"Mike was late for school which made me late for class and the professor kept me back telling me that he won't put this up for much longer since it's the third time this has happened in the past two weeks but then there wa-" she rambled on

"Aria. Stop. It's okay, we understand" Spencer warmly interrupted with a firm yet soft hand to Aria's left shoulder

"Thanks you guys" she sighed "so what have I missed?"

"Well Toby is -"

"Caleb's taking me to this fancy spa get away in the city for the weekend so i bought these killer thigh-high leather boots and when i told him what i bought he extended the trip so i want to go back to Philly to buy some sexy lingerie, maybe he'll buy me a car" Hanna finished proudly

"Han did you seriously not hear me, i was literally in the mid-"

"Aria did you want to come? I looked through your draw and your lingerie is seriously so last year"

"HANNA!"

"Spencer what is wrong with you, why are you shouting? People are staring, keep your voice down woman" and because of the Hanna-ness of that comment, it caused the whole group to break out into laughs but cease down when their coffees arrived soon after.

"But seriously, Aria. Girls day on Saturday, Caleb wants to go out with Mike to that new arcade in the city and I really want to go shopping" Hanna whined

Aria hesitated. "Uh Han, i don't know. This time of year is getting really hard for us and I think it might be better if we stick together. The one year anniversary is next week and Mike is being really distant lately, like even further away than usual…"

"That's exactly why you both need to go! Mike has got so close with Caleb and the guys this past year and he can be a guy around them. He needs those male-influences in his life, Aria. Lord knows Byron won't do that considering he just sending a gift and called you guys on birthdays. And you need to come out with us. You have been stressing and working so much we hardly ever see you. Come on"

It's true. Aria has been working herself to death when she doesn't have classes and spending her spare time at home studying and cleaning up, only seeing her friends twice in the past week when they show up to her work.

"Uhhh... Ok fine I'll see what I can do for the both of us… Spence what were you saying about Toby?"

"Okay so I think he's cheating on me" and the other two girls groaned

"Jesus, Spencer, I told you he wasn't cheating on you, why are you so paranoid about this?" Hanna said

"He's been really secretive around me and I walked into his apartment a few days ago and he was on his laptop but as soon as he saw me he closed all his browsers; locked his computer and when he was in the shower I tried to log on to do some work and he changed his password! Who even still does that anymore? Like, is he watching porn then?"

"That's a turn on. You should act it out in nothing but stilettos one day"

The girls all simultaneously turned with a shocked yet questioning glance to Hanna who simply shrugged

"What? I overheard someone saying it once and you know…" which again caused them to laugh as one

"We're going to change the topic now. Em?"

"I don't really have any problems lately. No boy drama definitely. No girl drama so everything's pretty smooth lately."

"Paige doesn't seem to think so" Hanna said in a sing-song manner under her breath. Emily excused herself thinking she was the only one who heard Hanna and left before Hanna could continue, unknowingly to her Hanna did carry on "she broke up with Paige last week because apparently she hinted at them getting engaged and moving closer to scouts together in like Boston" but stopped as Emily walked back and they continued their earlier conversations. 

*Knock knock*

"Hey Mike, can I come in?"

With no response coming from the other side, Aria opened Mike's bedroom door and was met with a heart-warming sight. Mike was curled up on his bed with a framed photo of the Montgomery family standing on a glacier in Iceland, a time when they were all happy and thankful to have each other

"What do you want?" He mumbled

"Caleb wants you to have a guy's day on the weekend; I think Toby's going too... Um me and the girls will be at the mall and the guys really want you to go"

"Yeah I know, Caleb texted me"

"Okaaayyy" she dragged out "well dinner will be done soon… After I start it" she laughed to herself at the joke

"Fine"

Sensing his clipped attitude, she walked forward tentatively. "Hey Mike… How are you, really? I know it's pretty hard around this time right now and i don't see you as much as i used to but i really am trying my best to do right by you" but she was met with silence. As she turned on her heels to leave the room she heard a faint noise coming from the bed

"I'm really glad you're still here Aria, thank you"

The next morning came and went fairly easy: no complaints from Mike regarding school or breakfast and he was up and ready sitting and the counter before Aria even told him to and wordlessly made his way to the car.

Since it was Tuesday, it meant Aria had no classes to attend to, but it did mean that she had her second job as a waitress at the Grille to get to. Making it right on time, she put her apron on and got ready to serve her first customer for the day

"Hi what can i get you?" She asked without looking up

"Wow Aria i thought by now you already knew what i liked" a voice croaked

Her head snapped up to the familiar face. "What do you want, Noel" she waited a split second before sensing a snarky remark and continuing "from the Grille, not me"

"Aria come on"

"No Noel. Not here, not now, please"

"I'm not going to leave you alone til you talk to me. Damnit Aria it's been months and you haven't spoken to me. You didn't even let me explain" he snapped and slammed his hand down on the counter which caused Aria and those in line behind him to jump and those in the close radius to them turn and watch on

"Noel" Aria said firmly, looking around the café hoping he would catch on and understand her point of view and with that he turned and stormed out of the Grille without buying anything, leaving Aria to sigh and place her aching head in her hands but recompose herself a minute later for new customers and the regulars.

"Hi what can i get you?" She again asked again without looking up

"Hey Aria" a new voice said

"Oh hi Mr Fitz, how have you been?"

"Not too bad actually. Can i just get a blueberry muffin and a latte to-go please"

"No problem.. One thing though before I give you your food. I know PT interviews aren't until next fortnight but can you just tell me how Mike's doing really quickly"

He stifled a small laugh "he's doing fine Aria, you don't need to stress about him, i'll take care of him during school. See you next time Miss Montgomery" he said with a wink

_Feel it comin' in the air  
Hear the screams from everywhere  
I'm addicted to the thrill  
It's a dangerous love affair  
Can't be scared when it goes down_

_Got a problem, tell me now  
Only thing that's on my mind  
Is who's gonna run this town tonight...  
Is who's gonna run this town tonight...  
We gonna run this town_


	3. Chapter 3

"ARIA! You better get your small but cute butt down these stairs right now before I drag you down"

"Ok ok, I'm coming jeez" she mumbled walking down the stairs and into the living room. Dressed in rolled up washed jeans and a white tee with sandals, the room turned to stare at her momentarily with awe, not at just how good she looked despite the weight of the world she carried on her shoulders but the way her confidence lit up a room without even trying.

After seeing Mike on the couch with Caleb both with controllers in hand and Toby sitting next to them staring intently at the screen, she thanked the Heavens and her guardian angel that he had people around him to make him happy, keep him going and smile when she failed to do so.

"Mike I'm going now, there's money on top of the counter. Boys take care of my little brother, i know where you live and how to get what i want which is bad for you" she smirked as she said this earning a groan from the two elder boys. The last time they took Mike out, they went and bought him some alcohol and some Playboys and in return Aria convinced Hanna and Spencer to tease them but not sleep with them for weeks. They begged for forgiveness ad earned it after literally bending down on both knees and serving her, her dinner which they cooked. 

* * *

They'd been shopping for the past few hours and Hanna didn't seem to be wearing herself out, she'd worn out Aria, Spencer and Emily though

"Aria oh my you need this so so so so bad, it'll totally look bitchin on you" Hanna exclaimed

"Did you really say 'bitchin'?" Emily laughed

"Don't hate, Em, just 'cause i'm cooler than you" she said as she turned to continue maxing out her cards

"Anyways like i was saying, Byron's coming down next week before the anniversary and it's got Mike on edge more than normal because he thinks Byron's been hinting at taking him to Syracuse with him and uproot him there. But he won't do that right; i mean i'm his legal guardian and he's not that bad to take him from under my wing, right?"

"If something happens, tell me and i'll speak to my mom about it for advice but i can tell you now that Byron understands that you're old and mature enough to care for Mike and knows you two need each other. You work two grueling jobs when you don't even need to, Byron is still sending you guys money every month and whenever you need it. The house and bills are already paid for for-God's-sake. Why you work that much is beyond me"

"I work that much so i have pocket money that i personally earned. I hate depending on other people for things because it gets me nowhere and they can be taken from me at any second!" She snapped

"Aria she didn't mean it like that... But not everyone is like Noel" Emily softly added, ignoring the mention of Aria's mother

"It's fine. Can we change the subject already, or leave maybe?"

"Yeah i'm done, let's go eat, i'm starving"

On their way to the food-court as the girls either split or went together to their respective franchises, Aria bumped into a muscular form

"Easy, Aria. What's got you in a rush?"

"Noel what do you want. No sarcasm, no snarky response"

"I want to talk. You haven't spoken to me in months and didn't even let me explain myself" he said slightly aggravated

"I don't think that's a good idea and you know that. Where is she anyway, doing the devil's work perhaps?"

"Actually i was just buying some whipped cream and chocolate syrup if you know what i mean" a third voice interrupted and linked her arm with Noel's which he tried to shrug off causing her to grip on tighter

"Really now? That's funny 'cause i thought you were just buying some A-cup EXTREMELY push-up bras, Jenna" Hanna's voice added.

Turning around she found that her 3 best friends were standing in a row behind her and she visibly let out a sigh of relief. Turning back to face Jenna who was now looking flushed and looking anywhere but the group gathered

"What's wrong Jenna, you're looking a little pale there" Spencer said with a smirk on her face before walking off with the 3 of us right behind her leaving Jenna stuck in her place with a shocked expression and Noel stifling a laugh

After sitting down with their food and chatting for 10 minutes, Aria decided to finally pick up her phone which was incessantly ringing for a few minutes.

"Hello"

"Aria, thank God you finally picked up. What is wrong with you, you have a phone for a reason"

"What's wrong, Caleb?"

"Have you checked the news?" he rushed

"No? Why? What's wrong?"

"Just do it, Aria" he softly said. And surely enough she stared up at the TV in the food court playing footage of a plane crash

"Oh my God" she whispered

"Right. Well Mike saw the headline and just went silent for about 10 minutes, we tried talking to him but he just kept his head straight and I don't even think he blinked once. But here's the thing, we kind of went to get food and when we got back he was gone and can't find him now" he offered meekly

She sighed. "No it's okay, it's not like this hasn't happened before. Just keep looking and so will we"

After explaining the situation and gaining full understanding, the girls packed up and went on a search for Mike. Three hours later at 7pm, the girls departed with Aria's permission but promised to call if they heard anything.

She was about to give up and go home when she eagerly picked up her phone

"Aria" a voice whispered

"Mr Fitz is that you?"

"Yeah um i kind of need to tell you something"

"Mr Fitz, with all due respect, I can't really talk right now. Mike's gone all MIA again and i can't find him" she hastily replied

"Well yeah that's the thing. I was on my way home and Mike was wondering the streets alone with a bottle of liquor in his hand and screaming to no one in particular, so i brought him up to my apartment and he's sleeping it off right now on my couch"

She again let out a sigh of relief. With an exchange of his address, Aria made her way over to the unfamiliar building and up the flight of stairs to 3B and was met with high-school English teacher dressed in dark jeans and a fitting dark shirt momentarily scanning and praising each other's bodies before he let her in to the apartment and immediately saw a 17-year old Mike's tear stained face peacefully sleeping.

She sighed and plopped herself down on the opposite couch, Mr Fitz sinking down next to her and offering soothing words of comfort as she began to cry

"I've just been trying my best to keep him safe and out of his haze and it was fine until the new plane crash today which is so close to last years and it's just killing me that i can't do anything to help him" she sobbed

"Aria you're doing fine, amazing actually. You take better care of Mike than normal parents do, trust me" he kept continuing his words of wisdom until Aria too fell asleep on his shoulder

Hours later when Mike woke up in an unfamiliar surroundings and saw Aria cozying up to his English teacher he let out an awkward cough which woke and broke the two apart

Quickly finding her bearings, Aria then scolded Mike which turned into an argument with Mr Fitz awkwardly making his way to the kitchen to leave the siblings alone

"Mike you can't do this every time you hear something that reminds you of them! You know what would happen of Byron finds out! Don't make me tell him!" She shouted

"You wouldn't dare!" He replied just as loud

"No you're right. I wouldn't because i love you and you're my baby brother and i won't let anything bad happen to you!... OK?" She replied, this time a notch louder but was cut off by a bear hug.

Making their way out the door, Aria stopped suddenly

"Thank you so much Mr Fitz. But i'm sorry you had to witness that"

"Ezra, please. Aria i think we've known each other long enough for you to call me Ezra. Mr Fitz makes me sound old" he chucked

"That's because you are, old man" she said teasingly

"Excuse me young lady, I am merely 25 thank you very much" he shot back "I'm not only a teacher, Miss Montgomery; I do have a life you know. I'll have you know I was just in New York"

"Doing what?" she questioned

Not having enough time to think about a cover story Ezra blurted in one breath "Okay so I was having lunch with my mother, but that's not the point I'm trying to make"

Aria doubled over in laughter at her old English teacher

"Aria, seriously? It's been like 5 minutes" Mike yelled from the end of the hallway "I'm hungry"

"Well Mr Fitz –"

"Seriously Aria we just spoke about this" he said with a heart-melting smirk on his face

"Okay, Ezra" she tested with a smile "see you whenever, hopefully in better circumstances" and with that they parted with a hug which left them both tingling

**Okay so the Ezra interactions are building up (inwardly screams)**

**Next up: Ella's one year death anniversary and more Ezra**


	4. Chapter 4

"Ella Montgomery-Waters was indescribable."

"She was my friend"

"She was my wife"

"Not only was she an amazing teacher, she was also an amazing mother and a down to earth worker. "

"It had been my privilege to work alongside her and we will never forget her"

Speech after speech, Aria began to feel woozy. All the speeches were the same, only coming from different people. She didn't want to hear what was common knowledge, she wanted to hear what not everyone knew. She wanted people to talk about her mom's enthusiasm and the way her eyes lit up at the mention of specific writers, the way she would paint and sell what Aria would call 'masterpieces' and this was her escape from the world. She wanted to hear how despite her father's infidelity, she saw past his wrongs and forgave but didn't forget and was able to look past the faults and not have critical judgments in everyone.

October 25th had been the dreaded day for weeks in the Montgomery household. Not only were Mike and Aria still grieving, but Byron returned to Rosewood with some unsettling news the day he arrived... But not alone.

It wasn't that he was trying to take Mike back to Syracuse with him, that was "just a plus in this situation" was how he put it. As if Byron knew this would torture his children, he sprung another round of news on his children

"Her name's Deb. She's a local pre-school teacher" what had just happened? Did they just hear what their father had said correctly? It was all a blur and they lost focus until he said the next sentence that could potentially ruin the broken remains of what was left of their family.

"We're getting married in March" and at that, a mysterious honey-colour haired woman they figured was Deb entered the room and stood behind Byron with both her hands folded onto his right shoulder.

Talk about a surprise.

Who was he to bring a random woman into his children's lives on that day out of the 364 rest? Sensing their father's happiness, Aria and Mike planted wide fake-grins on their faces and congratulated the fairly new couple, spending the rest of the day in the care of Byron and their future step-mother.

Mother. No.

No one could replace Ella. No one.

The next day rolled in with a blur. People were moving around too fast trying to ready the house for the party held after a Church service in memory of Ella and Zack, even baby Scarlett and it felt like Aria was walking in slow motion as the rest of the world sped past her.

Photos of the two adults on their wedding day and memories in general were hung up in the old Victorian house, ultrasounds photos of Scarlett framed as well.

Not feeling in the mood to help Aria made her way to Mike's room and the two held onto each other for dear life before separating and sitting in silence and pondering thoughts before it was time to get ready for the Church service where family members and relatives remembered happy and sad memories of the couple then making their way to the household.

Mike and Aria however headed straight to the cemetery.

"Hey guys" Aria said as they approached and sat around the family gravestone which occupied Ella, Zack and Scarlett, placing down three bunches of different Gerber daisies.

"One year huh you guys" she said after sitting in silence for a few minutes, tears beginning to form in her eyes. A few moments later the pair began to update their mother on what's been happening lately, including Byron's news. "I don't know why we're telling you, not like you aren't watching over us right?"

"Aria?" Mike cleared his throat "Can you just give me a few minutes please" he asked

"Yeah sure" she nodded as she raised and dusted herself off before aimlessly walking around the graveyard looking at the stones wondering what Mike was doing, he's never even spoke at the cemetery, let alone visited more than a handful of times over the year.

Minutes passed and she found herself paying respects to those close to her whose lives had been taken too soon from this unfair world before Mike signaled for the two to say their good byes to the Waters' and head off home

The house was cramped and was as hot as a sauna. Mike quickly found his friends that he had invited to be there for him, as did Aria.

"So i heard Byron's getting re-married to a younger woman. Is she the same one he cheated on Ella with?"

"No i think that was his student" voices mumbled in the distance but clear enough for Aria to make out and to be affected by

"Excuse me" she asked her friends who watched her leave to the back of the house in silence with worried glances.

Aria POV:

Did they really just say that at my mother's One year death anniversary? Urgh i need to get out of here before i scream

"Excuse me" i said to my friends.

Feeling their eyes following me, i quickened my pace to the back of the house and sat myself down at the piano my mom taught me to play at

Playing around with a few notes, i finally settled on a song i feel closest to my mom at, smiling at the thought of her teaching me this song after my grandma passed away five years ago

I softly began to play a new bar of notes after the other and softly started to sing

_Found myself today_  
_Oh I found myself and ran away_  
_Something pulled me back_  
_The voice of reason I forgot I had_  
_All I know is you're not here to say_  
_What you always used to say_  
_But it's written in the sky tonight_

_So I won't give up_  
_No I won't break down_  
_Sooner than it seems life turns around_  
_And I will be strong_  
_Even if it all goes wrong_  
_When I'm standing in the dark I'll still believe_  
_Someone's watching over me_

Tears made their way down my face faster than before but i couldn't stop them, i don't think i wanted to stop them at this point.

_Seen that ray of light  
And it's shining on my destiny  
Shining all the time  
And I won't be afraid  
To follow everywhere it's taking me  
All I know is yesterday is gone  
And right now I belong  
To this moment to my dreams_

_So I won't give up_  
_No I won't break down_  
_Sooner than it seems life turns around_  
_And I will be strong_  
_Even if it all goes wrong_  
_When I'm standing in the dark I'll still believe_  
_Someone's watching over me_

At this point of the song my eyes were closed yet i could feel a crowd of people begin to gather at the door frame and listen to me but i barely even registered them and continued to sing

_It doesn't matter what people say_  
_And it doesn't matter how long it takes_  
_Believe in yourself and you'll fly high_  
_And it only matters how true you are_  
_Be true to yourself and follow your heart_

_So I won't give up_  
_No I won't break down_  
_Sooner than it seems life turns around_  
_And I will be strong_  
_Even if it all goes wrong_  
_When I'm standing in the dark I'll still believe_  
_That I won't give up_  
_No I won't break down_  
_Sooner than it seems life turns around_  
_And I will be strong_  
_Even when it all goes wrong_  
_When I'm standing in the dark I'll still believe_  
_That someone's watching over_  
_Someone's watching over_  
_Someone's watching over me_

_Someone's watching over me_

As the final bars were played, my fingers slowed down and my voice croaked hinting at the flood of tears that hadn't escaped my eyes yet.

Keeping my eyes closed, i broke down at the piano and heard gasps escaping those whom had gathered but at the feel of somebody's touch on my shoulder i pulled away and again excused myself, this time to be alone with my thoughts for twenty minutes before i was again interrupted

"Oh sorry, i didn't see you there"

"No it's fine, really. Have a seat Mr Fitz"

"Okay i'm going to let that one slide" he laughed. Is it bad that i find his laugh adorable? "That was beautiful, Aria, i didn't know you could play or had a voice like that. Wow"

"Yeah i took some lessons when i was younger. My mom and i used to play together sometimes" i shrugged

"I'm sorry" he whispered

"You know what? You don't even need to be sorry. I hate how people think that just because my mom died that i never want to speak about her or remember anything about her ever again"

"That isn't what i meant. You know that. I'm just sorry that you had to go through that, not that i brought it up" he briefly stopped "I know exactly what you're going through though"

But was interrupted right before i could question him

"This is the second time i've found you guys like this" Mike said making his way out of the house

"The first time was because you got your stupid ass drunk and were walking alone on the streets" i raised my eye brow moving away from Ezra, daring Mike to question me

"Touche. Well dad's put on the family movies if you want to come in, but i'm warning you from now that he put the most embarrassing ones of you first and there was just the one of you stuffing your face in cake... You can come too Mr Fitz" he added just before turning around back into the house

Urgh not again. Seriously, Byron doesn't even need an excuse to put on the home-movies because he'd do it for any reason

"ARIA QUICK THERE'S ONES OF YOU SCREAMING AT DAD FOR GETTING THE WRONG FLAVOURED BEN AND JERRY'S IN JUST YOUR UNDERWEAR" Mike screamed causing me to groan even more

"Infant Aria screaming at an adult? Yes please" Ezra smirked as he ran off into the house dragging me in behind him.

There it was again, that tingling feeling? Holy crap, for the first time in my life I feel alive again. Not even Byron's need to replay old family movies could change how I felt at that exact moment.

October 25th was no longer a day to dread, but to remember and celebrate life and be thankful for what we have already.

_Someone's watching over me_

**Next up: Noel confrontation; PT interviews and Ezria mush**


	5. Chapter 5

Aria POV:

_Empty spaces fill me up with holes  
Distant faces with no place left to go  
Without you within me I can't find no rest  
Where I'm going is anybody's guess_

_I tried to go on like I never knew you_  
_I'm awake but my world is half asleep_  
_I pray for this heart to be unbroken_  
_But without you all I'm going to be is incomplete_

_Voices tell me I should carry on_  
_But I am swimming in an ocean all alone_  
_Baby, my baby_  
_It's written on your face_  
_You still wonder if we made a big mistake_

This song had been stuck in my head for about a week already. I think my Backstreet Boys obsession is resurfacing.

Stopping at my destination, I huffed and begrudgingly took out my headphones. Why did I agree to this?

I'd been walking around this block for the past hour trying to put it off for as long as possible, but it was getting cold now and I was only wearing a three-quarter thin shirt right now.

For the past two weeks, Noel's been popping up everywhere I turn; the grocery store, work, college, the gas station and even my house before I decided I've had enough and had to deal with him, a real conversation for the first time in months that will set him straight, this can't go on anymore. So without telling my friends knowing they'd want to accompany me and be deadest against me going alone I agreed to meet Noel in a public restaurant just outside of Rosewood.

Still upset about having to pause Backstreet Boys, I walked in with a scowl planted on my face, my scowl quickly growing as I immediately spotted Noel sitting on the corner table reading the menu and looked up as I sat in front of him but not saying a word.

"Woah. You actually came, I'm pretty surprised right now, give me a minute"

"Stop being smart, Noel. You were practically stalking me. What do you want?" I answered crossing my arms

He looked down and cleared his throat, it was like he was about to recite a speech to me

"You." He said looking up. About to cut him off and stop him right there, he cut me off and kept going "I know what you think but you're wrong. About everything and now I just want to go back to how it used to be"

"When you were cheating on me or before that?"

"Can you just stop and listen to me for once? That isn't what happened, how many times do I have to tell you?"

"So where's Jenna?"

"I don't know, we're not together so I don't really care"

"That's not what it looked like at the mall, now did it?" I quirked my eyebrow.

Damn, I was on a roll today

"She wanted my take on her dad's present since she couldn't ask Toby, nothing's happening between us I promise"

"What happened Noel? Was I not good enough?" and just like that my walls came down, all that wit just vanished into thin air

"NO! I swear Aria"

"You kissed her after my mom's funeral, Noel. What did you expect me to do, feel happy about what you two did?" taking my silence as a cue to continue, he did just that.

"You had practically cut me out of your life and wouldn't even talk to me. She was just there –"

"And that makes it okay? Well excuse me for shutting everyone out as I grieved the loss of my mom and sister."

"Would you let me finish? We were just hanging out that day and I told her she had to leave before I even texted you but she said she wanted to wait, she didn't think you'd show up. But since my back was to the door and she was facing me, I guess she saw you and kissed me and the next thing I know is that you slammed my door" he shook his head "I'm so sorry, I never meant to hurt you"

Sitting in silence for a few minutes and glancing at the clock

"Is that all?" I asked impatiently

He again shook his head "I want you back"

"That's not a good idea. We're two completely different people now and it's best if we moved on. Maybe we can just go back to the way we were before we dated? Friends?" I asked holding out my hand as a sign of piece. He really was a good friend to me before he broke through the friendship zone

Looking at my hand wearily as if it was something he'd never seen before for a few seconds, he sighed and shook it.

"It's better than not having you in my life at all I guess… I have to tell you something though. I got a job at this sports office and I start next month"

"That's great, Noel, you always wanted this"

"It's in New York; I actually listened to you and decided to give you some space for real without bugging you."

Clearing my throat at the awkwardness and not having anything to say, I stood up and said my goodbye having to leave to sit with Mike's teachers, but with the promise of seeing him before I left

* * *

Wow.

I really don't miss being in high-school. The teachers are so… I don't know? Have they always been like this?

Every single teacher I've seen so far has slowly spoken and offered their respects for me actually taking time to be here and for my mom who used to be their co-worker. The literally took more than 5 minutes to do this before actually talking about Mike.

Then came the part I couldn't describe.

For the last 5 minutes, hardly taking any breaths, each teacher would say how Mike was doing fairly well in regards to the circumstances and a few teachers even said he needs to catch up on some work to keep up with the program "_due to how many days he's had off as of late_". Days off? What days off? As far as I'm concerned, Mike's been to school every day…

Mr Carter - his lacrosse coach praised Mike for showing up to practice every single day and showing up early to practice some times. I don't remember him being this weird but he even stood up and showed me how Mike would play.

Literally.

He stood and grabbed a lacrosse stick and showed me how Mike would swing and sometimes how he would run oddly, actually running on the spot in front of me.

It took me all the restraint I've ever had to hold it in and not laugh as he began running on the spot with the most serious expression planted on his face, it was determination and I had to give him that. Thankfully the timer went off and I had to see Mike's final teacher.

_Ezra Fitz. _

Let's hope he just doesn't stand up and show me how Mike would walk into class, sit at his desk and read aloud when he was asked or even how he might sleep through the lesson. Laughing to myself at the imagery of Ezra doing that, I had to compose myself as I walked into my old English class room – nothing's changed.

The room still smelt the same, oddly enough, books and book cases still lined the back wall and there still was a young man seated at his desk that was filled with student papers and some books along with his laptop and bag, dressed in tight fitting pants, a smart-casual shirt with a tie which for sure would still make the girls go crazy

At the sight of him, I couldn't hold it in anymore and just bent over laughing and straightening up almost a minute later. The expression on his face before checking himself for any odd blotches or his zipper undone set me off again. I finally stopped when I realised how inappropriate I was being but keeping a smile on my face

"You okay there?"

"Yeah I'll be fine in a second"

"Okay so lately we've working on "_To Kill A Mockingbird_" which I'm sure you'd remember. And Mike's been really great, no problems, no discrepancies and his work's been on point actually"

The first teacher who didn't talk about my mom. Wow.

"Mr Fitz, can I ask you something?" i asked suddenly turning our conversation serious

"Ezra" sensing my unsureness as I didn't reply with a snarky comment, he hesitated before answering "Sure what's up?"

"Has Mike been to every class of yours? A few other teachers said he's been missing some"

"Yeah he really has. I actually heard that in the staffroom but it wasn't my place to ask so…"

"It's fine I'll deal with it"-

"You seem like you have a lot to deal with" he said but the rest of his sentence fell short as Aria's ringtone buzzed

"What do you want Mike… No I can't do that right now… Mike seriously? I'm literally sitting with your teacher right now… Mr Fitz… Can you not. I'm hanging up on you ok"

Looking up, Fitz had his eyebrow quirked. I don't know if he could hear my conversation or he's just naturally amused as he listened to my one-sided conversation.

"Sorry what were you saying?" I attempted to shift the conversation

"Nothing really. You however were about to tell me why Mike thinks you're flirting with me instead of getting updates on him" he smirked as he leaned back into his chair, arm crossed yet amused

"Nope I don't think so" I played along

Thankfully the buzzer went off and he quit his line of questioning

"Come on, you were my last one tonight. I'll walk you out, Miss Montgomery" he said as he stood grabbing his belongings to leave

"Hey, if I have you call you Ezra, you have to call me Aria"

"Excuse me young lady, you don't get to tell me what to do"

Holy shit. What did I just do? He is in front of me, hands on his hips as he towered over my short figure and has a serious expression on his face. Oh my God. I froze.

"I am so sorry, I thought that – " I began to ramble

He laughed… Loudly…

"I was just kidding, Aria. See I have no problem calling you Aria. Jeez, you need to relax, now who's the old one here" He said recalling our conversation at his apartment

Taking a leap of faith here I punched his arm. Why did I feel so comfortable around him?

"Ouch. That hurt" he whisper-yelled

"I don't care, that wasn't funny. I seriously thought you were mad at me"

OH MY GOD I just punched my old English teacher in the arm, what the hell is wrong with me?

"Well then that just means I'm a really good actor if you couldn't tell I was joking. I think I might just become an actor"

"You have to thank me in your speech though"

I see my car, damnit I wish I parked further away. I was really liking this.

_Wait_ there were only two cars left in the parking lot and they were parked right next to each other and one of them was mine, was the other one his

"Well this is me" he said finally

"Yeah me too"

"Well I guess this is goodbye then. Goodnight Aria" and he pulled me in for a hug.

A hug.

Okay I'm 1000% what I felt then was more than neutral feelings for my old English teacher. I think he felt it too because when he pulled back he stared at me for a good few seconds while I was still in his arms

"Good night" I said in a daze

He didn't reply this time though, he just opened his car door and got in and stared ahead for a good few minutes, as did I before we both eventually drove off in different directions without looking at each other. 

**I think i'll just update on Tuesday from now on, but it'll be Monday at night time for Americans bc time difference**

**Sorry for the delay though, i've actually had this written up for a long time but i always got caught up in my holidays**

**Next up: Noel/Aria confrontation with Ezra present hmm... maybe an Ezria kiss, who knows**

**There might be an Ezria sex scene coming up, should i just imply it or write it? Hit me up**


	6. Chapter 6

"YOU DID WHAT!" Emily, Spencer and Hanna all yelled simultaneously as Aria recalled to them her meeting with Ezra that had just happened. Straight after leaving the high school parking lot, instead of following Ezra's route to her house, she raced to Hanna's house where the rest of the girls were gathered.

"I don't know what came over me, you guys. Oh my gosh, I punched my little brother's English teacher, my old English teacher. What if he tells the principal and Mike gets expelled or something over this oh my gosh"

"Okay let's not jump ahead of ourselves here" Spencer said

"Yeah, I mean by the things you've told us he clearly seems to be into you. Maybe now you can wear that lingerie you bought." Hanna being Hanna added

"I didn't buy any lingerie?" Aria asked with a confused stare

"You're right, but I did for you" and with that Hanna plopped a wrapped bag on the bed in front of Aria who began searching through the bag

"Again I'm going to say let's not get ahead of ourselves here" Spencer said trying to think rationally.

A loud gasp emanated from Aria's mouth

"What's wrong?" Emily asked concerned, looking around the other girls for a clue or something that she must have missed and stopped at Hanna who had her arms folded, leaning back and had the biggest grin on her face "What did you do?"

"Let's just say Fitzy has a lot of surprises in store for him"

"HANNA! Not only did you buy this" Aria says as she holds up a skimpy, barely-there red thong and matching bra "but you bought these too" and brought out edible panties "and other things which I don't care to share, nor what they do" and thrust the bag at Hanna who continued to smirk

"When did you even buy these?" Emily piped in "either you have psychic powers and knew this would happen or I don't even know why else you would buy these"

"Jeez can't I do something nice for one of my best friends? Fine. It was when we split up to buy food last week at the mall, I saw Noel, quickly paid for them and by the time I left the store you guys were with him and I wanted to say something about you wearing them for your new boyfriend ok"

"About Noel… I kinda ended up meeting with him today" Aria sheepishly said

"WHAT?"

"WHEN?"

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US?"

"ARIA!" All three yelled in unison

"I had to go alone and see what he wanted. We're over for good and we've agreed to be just friends. He's actually moving to New York for a new job soon. This could be really good for us guys, promise"

* * *

The next morning, Aria woke up with the scent of pancakes and waffles among with coffee filling her nostrils. Quickly getting up to see where it came from, all she saw was Mike at the stove cooking what looked to be bacon and eggs. Mike cooking, since when?

Coughing to get his attention, he turned with a smile on his face. Now that's what Aria liked to see.

"Morning sis, what's up?"

"More like what's up with you?" she asked curiously

"Not much, just wanted to cook you breakfast for once"

"Okay seriously what's going on here?"

He dropped the spatula and his kind demeanor

"What'd my teachers say last night?" ohhh so this is what it's about

"Well they all said you were coming first in the class and you're their favourite student"

"Really?" he asked, falling for Aria's obvious sarcasm

"No you moron. Did you seriously think I was being serious? Wow."

"Oh"

"I did kind of punch Mr Fitz yesterday"

"WHAT! Oh my God, I'm going to get detention for life. Why would you do that?"

"We'll talk about this later, it's that time of month, I'm taking you out later for lunch in the city, my treat."

"It's a school day" he reminded Aria as if she'd forgotten

"Are you seriously complaining?"

* * *

"So how do you feel about dad marrying that Deb woman" Aria asked as she twirled the straw in her vanilla smoothie

"It's hard because I think she's going to try and take mom's place but then again we're old enough to not let her, you know? I won't really affect us though. We never really see him that often and when we do it's just for a day. As long as he's happy I guess" Mike shrugged

"See that's what I thought too. Mom moved on with Zack and they were really happy together so if Deb makes him happy and doesn't try anything with us and doesn't try stepping over that step-mother line then we should be good, we know karate"

"Hey guys we're closing up now" the restaurant owner Haley said.

"Crap is that the time. MIKE! Why didn't you tell me? We've been here for so long oh my gosh you have school tomorrow. Up" she said finality "Thank you so much Haley"

"No problem, don't be a stranger though" Haley said warmly

Mike broke the silence in the car apart from the radio as they drove back into Rosewood.

"Can we stop by the Brew, I need some coffee in my system asap"

"You have school tomorrow"

"Aria, seriously? It's only 5:30. You're so old"

"Shut up." And despite her statement, she drove to the Brew

"So that whole day went past and we spoke about everything but the PT interviews last night" Mike laughed as they exited their car and made their way to the Brew

"Ahhh the interviews. Well they were fine, same thing different teachers. Mr Carter got up and showed me how you run like a pansy"

"I don't know why he does that, I think he wanted to be an actor but got caught in teaching. I don't run like that do I?

"You actually really do, he's a good actor, don't talk smack about him. Another thing, every teacher said that you've taken a few too many days off this year, do you know anything about that?"

"Here's the funny thing about that. Wait, you gave me a day off today?"

"I don't normally take you out on a school day. Stop making me the bad guy and answer me" she argued back

"Mike? I didn't see you at school today" A man's voice spoke from behind the pair causing them to turn around

"Oh yeah Mr Fitz, well A-"

"He had an appointment in the city and I had to take him" Aria announced placing her tiny hands on each of Mike's shoulders

"Did you get a doctor's certificate, Mike?"

"I'm going to order coffee, I'll be back" Aria left at that moment for Mike to deal with his teacher's third degree

"Hey Aria, what are you doing here?" Noel popped up out of nowhere, in that moment Aria decided she would check her phone to see if Noel had a chipping device installed in her phone which she carried around everywhere

"Oh I was just here with Mike to get coffee" she pointed, looked around the room but surely enough there was no Mike, just an English teacher staring back at them

"You're here with him?" he asked incredulously after following her line of vision

"NO! I swear I'm here with Mike"

"Is that a hickey on your neck?"

Looking through the mirror planted on the wall, she saw the mark that her hair straightener left on her skin but before she could answer, he kept going

"Did he give that to you?" he asked taking a step toward her causing her to back into the wall

"Noel stop you're being silly now"

"I think you need to back up buddy" Ezra said coming up from behind Noel

"Wow Aria I knew you had a crush on him in high school but stooping that low now?"

"You sound like a 5 year old. That is so stupid" she retorted and in a second, Ezra was in-between Aria and Noel.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME! You needed space so I gave you space, I'm moving for you can't you see that" he yelled, thankfully there weren't any customers at the moment to turn and watch on

It was all in slow motion, his hand raised in the air as if to hit Aria but Ezra who was standing in front of her saw it first and pushed Noel back. Noel didn't take the cue to leave and retaliated, pushing Ezra back with more force forgetting Aria was there behind him causing her coffee to spill on her ocean blue tee-shirt, staining it and the force pushing her to the ground.

Noel just stood there in shock at what he had just done before exiting without another word or action while Ezra bent down to tend to Aria

"Hey are you okay?" he asked sincerely

"Yeah I'm fine." She cleared her throat "Where's Mike?" she wondered looking around the empty shop

"He saw his friend and said you'd be okay with him going over to his house. Was that not fine?"

"No, yeah it's okay. I just need to get home and changed."

"Here let me walk you to your car" he offered

"Thanks. Um did you want to come over to my house… For coffee I mean. I need to thank you for rescuing me and I still need my coffee fix"

Looking around for a sign, he looked back at Aria and nodded. He asked to drive back with Aria since he had walked to the Brew and he didn't live too far from Aria's house

"You like film noir?" Ezra asked as he observed Aria's film collection

"You don't get to judge me, it's the most beautiful film genre if you ask me"

"No, no I know exactly what you're talking about. It's mine too but I was just surprised you even knew what it was"

"My dad showed me a few when we used to go on holiday and they really stuck with me" she said as she continued making coffee and watching Ezra move around her living room

"Stop it. Don't tell me you like poetry too?"

"Love" she returns to him carrying two mugs of coffee

"You've always struck me as the type of person who could write really good stories. Even in high school your essays and stories were always my favourite. It sounds weird but I actually looked forward to reading them." He sheepishly added as he took a spot on the couch beside Aria and reached for the coffee mug

"I write a bit here and there when I have time but mostly it's personal"

"Well I'd love to read them any day if you would let me"

Not wanting to continue with this topic anymore, Aria asked if he wanted anything to eat

"No thanks" he pauses to take a sip of his drink "you wouldn't happen to want to go to a poetry reading next month? Upcoming artists go and read their stories and poems. It happens once every month and this month was last week. Want to go, with me?"

Pretending to think about it carefully, Aria waits a full minute before answering him with a genuine smile "Sure"

They spent the next few hours talking about themselves and getting to know each other better.

Aria's feelings grew stronger throughout their conversation and wanted to test if the feeling was mutual. Taking a giant leap from where they currently stood, Aria leaned forward and softly meshed her lips with Ezra's. They broke apart and looked into each other's eyes

"Wow. Yeah uh we can do that too" Ezra said.

They shouldn't be doing this but neither of them had the heart to stop it. They both wanted this, badly, and now they knew the other did too. Questions were running through both their heads; was this classified as wrong? Aria wasn't his student anymore but she was his student's guardian, does that have any consequences if they decide to pursue this? Is this a one-time thing or will it lead somewhere better?

Looking for any uncertainty in her eye's he again gingerly kissed Aria to what escalated to a heated make out session on her living room couch. Just as she reached for the hem of his shirt, she stopped herself from going too far, it was too soon

"You should go" she breathed heavily trying to regain her normal heart rate "Mike should be back soon"

"Sure. Call me?" she nodded. Leading him to the front door after readjusting themselves

"This is okay right? I'm not the only one feeling something am I, otherwise this is just awkward"

"I'll call you" she leaned up and kissed the corner of his lips

Once he was outside, they both stopped on either side of the door as it closed and simultaneously touched their tingling lips.

Well that was new

**Wow okay this is a day late :/ **

**i just got back to school last week and even though i've hardly gone which is really bad considering i have my exams in a few weeks and i've been really busy and i didn't really read this over but ta-da**

**is it too soon for Ezria sex within the next few chapters if there's a time jump?**


	7. Chapter 7

Aria POV:

_TheyCallMeFitzy: You know what I find funny?_

_CrazyEyedWhenScared-Pookie: We aren't going over this again. It was a stupid bet I made and the girls made me change my name okay it's not funny_

_TheyCallMeFitzy: That's your fault that you made a bet you knew you would lose_

_CrazyEyedWhenScared-Pookie: Well who thinks they're going to be the one to fall asleep first_

_TheyCallMeFitzy: You. We were talking all night before then_

_CrazyEyedWhenScared-Pookie: Whatever it was a childish bet..._

_TheyCallMeFitzy: I can't believe they still haven't caught on to us_

_CrazyEyedWhenScared-Pookie: Yeah I'm surprised that they didn't see anything when they held my phone captive for the day_

_TheyCallMeFitzy: What am I saved under ;)_

_CrazyEyedWhenScared-Pookie: Doofus. They think it's Mike_

_TheyCallMeFitzy: That really hurts my feelings_

_CrazyEyedWhenScared-Pookie: Oh poor baby_

_TheyCallMeFitzy: You're mean, did you know that. I don't know why I like you_

_CrazyEyedWhenScared-Pookie: 7pm?_

_TheyCallMeFitzy: Yeah, wear something casual though. Don't get scared about this though, we wouldn't want your beautiful eyes to pop out of your head now would we?_

_CrazyEyedWhenScared-Pookie: Now who's the rude one _

Just as I was about to send the message a knock on my door interrupted me and made me literally jump off my bed, slamming my laptop screen down as if the person could magically see through the back of my screen.

"Aria, can I come in?" Mike asked

"This is the first time you've ever knocked and asked. Are you okay?"

"Someone said something to me and it got me thinking"

"What's up?"

"Jackson works at this bar outside of Rosewood and he said he saw you or someone that looked like you and Mr Fitz a few weeks ago"

"Hmmm yeah that wasn't me, nope I don't remember going to a bar"

He raised his eye brow as if to question me but I raised mine just as far not letting him sense the anxiety I was feeling in that moment. Holy shit did we just get caught.

"You know it would be fine with me if it was you, you know. I mean yeah it'd be a little awkward but you did always have a crush on him and I bet if it wasn't for Noel you two would have been in one of those teacher-student relationships"

"Ew Mike stop it"

"Seriously though, if you want to…"

"You think so?"

"I think so" and he turned to leave. Phew. "And by the way, you might want to be a little more discrete, you kinda told me you were meeting up with someone at Snookers that night. Oh what a wonderful coincidence, Jackson works there too."

Oh. My. God.

The past few weeks have flown right by in front of my eyes.

I took the advice of my friends and quit one of my jobs but kept the other one as a safety net.

School's been the same.

I've also been secretly seeing Ezra. We went to the poetry reading together as friends and by the end of the night I had snuggled into his chest with his arm wrapped around my shoulders. Instead of listening to the speakers on stage we were having a private conversation between the two of us.

**_Flashback_**

_All the poems had been read out and stories too… they were so beautiful_

_They were mid-way through the poetry slam which somewhat resembled that of Jonah Hill in 22 Jump Street, when I leaned into Ezra's arms. His arms make me feel so safe and I don't know why, I haven't known him as Ezra and not Mr Fitz for very long but he's the type of person I would feel comfortable to spill my secrets to._

_The whole bar laughed as a Jonah Hill impersonator got on the stage and actually performed the same slam poem as in the movie, but in that moment I looked up from my position on his chest and at Ezra's face. Feeling my eyes on him, he too looked down to me and simultaneously we moved together and lips met in the middle. His tongue ran across my lower lip asking for permission which I quickly granted and savoured the taste of him before pulling away and putting my head in its same position as before._

_"Do you want to come over?" he muttered. I nodded and pulled him up with me and out of the club to what he refers to as his 'humble abode'_

Nothing happened that night apart from multiple heated make-out sessions. It may have moved to his bed, but nothing

* * *

"I think Mike knows about us" I whisper into my phone as I put on my white Converse shoes that match my rolled up rusty red jeans and a white shirt

"It wouldn't be such a bad thing would it? I'm around the corner so just come out whenever you're done"

"No it wouldn't but that just means we aren't being careful. I'm coming now" I said as I hung up the phone

"MIKE!" I yell running downstairs "I'm going out, don't do anything dumb"

"Have fun with Fitz. Don't do anything dumb" he repeated me. That kid is so going to get it, I don't even care if he knows at the moment

Climbing into his car at the usual place he stops for me around the corner from my house, he drove to a mysterious place as we chatted about mindless things

"Where are we going?"

"Quit being so paranoid" he said doing his best girl voice with a hand flick which caused me to laugh. "Don't worry we're almost there" he said back to normal.

Surly enough a mere 5 minutes later he pulled up at a putt putt course which looked abandoned from the outside, but the inside looked brand new

"I used to come here with my dad on our guys days" he smile

"You're such a dork"

"I came out here to have a good time and I'm honestly feeling so attacked right now"

"Really, Ezra, really?"

"I'm funny, leave me alone"

"Sure you are babe"

"I am so going to kick your ass out here, just you watch"

"You were right, you are funny"

* * *

"BOW DOWN TO ME" Ezra yelled as we finished the course.

He beat me by only a few scores, but I wasn't going to take this from him. Right now he looked like a little boy who just got a lollipop and it was really quite entertaining. He was running around waving his arms in the air.

When he got tired and puffed out, he led me to a picnic cloth placed on the floor with food scattered around it.

I sat between his legs and he began feeding me some of the food he had packed and we started talking about the holidays

"Spend Christmas with me" he said suddenly

"What?" I turned and sat facing him

"Spend Christmas with me" he repeated

"I don't think so, Ezra. I have Mike"

"Boxing Day. Come on, didn't you say he was going out with his friends that day? You can spend the rest with him"

"I'll talk to him first and see what he's doing; I'm not telling him I'm doing anything though because he'd make jokes"

* * *

_All right you Chipmunks  
Ready to sing your song  
I'll say we are, yeah  
Let's sing it now  
Okay, Simon?  
Okay  
Okay, Theodore?  
Okay  
Okay, Alvin? Alvin? Alvin  
Okay_

_Christmas, Christmas time is near  
Time for toys and time for cheer  
We've been good but we can't last  
Hurry Christmas, hurry fast  
Want a plane that loops the loop  
Me, I want a hula hoop  
We can hardly stand the wait  
Please Christmas, don't be late_

_Okay fellas, get ready  
That was very good, Simon  
Naturally  
Very good Theodore  
Ah, Alvin, you were a little flat, watch it  
Ah, Alvin, Alvin, Alvin  
Okay_

Ezra and Aria were laying on Ezra's couch as they watched Alvin and the Chipmunks half-asleep on Boxing Day

Just like Ezra said, Mike was out with his friends making the most of the Boxing Day sales while Ezra and Aria made the most of the time they had together.

The Montgomery's actually celebrated Christmas this year, last year was too painful. Mike had bought Aria a gold chain with her name in a cursive font, multiple gift card vouchers for different stores Aria liked to shop at and some of her favourite movies and TV shows. In return Aria got Mike some sports clothing, a watch and gift vouchers for his favourite stores too. Their extended family and Byron both sent their presents through mail which they had yet to receive.

Aria woke up before Ezra did and realised the movie had finished and they had slept for over three hours making it 6:30 pm. Quickly checking her newly left voicemail, Mike said he was spending the night with his friends and not to worry about him. This inspired Aria.

She gently pecked Ezra all over his face trying to wake up so they could exchange presents but he wouldn't wake up so she moved her head lower and began kissing him from his cheeks to his throat to his collar bone and down his chest and abs but was stopped just as she was about to go lower

"Aria? What are you doing" he asked sleepily trying to adjust his eyes

"Merry Christmas" she kissed him

"Oh merry Christmas to you too babe" he said as he sat up. After a few moments of silence he spoke up and questioned the uneasy look on Aria's face

"Yeah I'm fine, it's just" she stops abruptly trying to find her words

"Aria?"

"Ezra you were my teacher two years ago" finally looking up, her eyes bore into his

"Aria" he repeats himself, this time whispering and moving closer to the girl accompanying himself on his couch

"And I don't know if I'm allowed to say this since I'm your former student and the guardian of one of your current students but I think now since I'm out of school I can tell you this"

His heart thumps loudly against his chest he's sure she can hear it as it prepares to crack his ribs and pounce of his body

"It's just that I've never felt like this for someone before and it scares me" he can see the multiple emotions running through her eyes; afraid, uncomfortable, nervous.

He wants to tell her that it's not just one sided, that he feels what she's feeling but he's never been vocal about his feelings before and as much as he wanted to right now, he just couldn't. So instead of responding he leans in to press his lips against her as if she could read him through that simple yet electrifying kiss. That kiss was filled with more passion than any of them have felt in their life.

Deciding she didn't want to continue, Aria reared back and reached behind them and brought forward a bundle of presents

Following her lead, Ezra too reached for his presents from behind him without saying a word, still not recovered from that conversation

Being the two peas in a pod that they are, they both got each other multiple books that they loved and respective jewelry but Aria got Ezra an extra mystery present

"What is this?" he wondered

"I don't know you better open it and find out" her laughter filtered through the room

"What could possibly be in a box, and wrapping, and – oh wow" he breathed as he finally opened the present.

He laughed and stood up in front of her beginning to undo his pants

"Woah what are you doing" Aria asked not wanting to be misled. But he didn't stop until his pants were in a heap on the floor and he was left standing in his boxer shorts plastered with Santa riding sleighs, the exact ones Aria had bought him but in a different colour confined in the box

She sauntered over to where he stood, scanning his chiseled body and threw her arms behind his head and began caressing his hair as she kissed him forcefully. Being that they were standing close to the foot of his bed, he walked them backwards and slowly pushed Aria onto his bed without his lips leaving hers.

As usual when things got heated to a certain extent, Ezra peeled his lips from Aria's knowing he wasn't allowed to continue and take advantage of his former student, knowing not to push his limits, not even sure where they stood in this secret romance

"No" Aria whispered through the chilly winter night and pulled him back down.

Not willing to misunderstand the situation, he again pulled back and without actually using any words he asked her if she meant what he was thinking but all she did was kiss him back with more passion but his mind was taking control

"This is a bad idea. I can't want this, you're my student"

"Were" she said hoping to shut him up "It's okay, I want this and I know you do too" she whispers grazing what was restricted in his boxer shorts

"Are you sure?" he mumbled against her lips

Instead of replying, she rolled the duo over and separated briefly to pull her shirt over her head and toss it to the side as she straddled his legs, watching as he ran his eyes over her exposed chest covered in a warm purple laced bra. Sliding his fingers through her hair, he brings her back down to him and kisses her with so much hunger in one kiss, pulling her body to his and gripping her backside making her turn to the side and quietly moan his name.

He grunts in response, flipping them back over and trailing a line of kisses down her cheek to her collar bone, but not before he unclips her bra but leaving it firmly held in place on her chest. He sat up and pulled his own shirt over his head in a slow way which one would mistake for TV leaving Aria gapping at him and what was about to happen.

"Are you sure?" he asked again not wanting to push her. She barely even nodded but responded by removing her bra and undoing the button on her jeans, lifting her bottom so he could pull the material from under her legs and leaving her in nothing but her underwear.

Ezra was momentarily stuck in time as he stared at Aria's chest before leaning down, cupping one and enveloping the other.

What he was making her feel… She's never felt it before

He stopped and began leaving oft kisses along her chest and stomach, rolling his hips into hers, his want making itself very clear to Aria's lower region making her moan louder

After kissing for a few more minutes, Aria moved her hands down to Ezra's pants causing him to groan as she starts unbuttoning his jeans and pulling them down his legs. What was running through his head a few minutes before was now long gone

Ezra paused their activities to stand leaving Aria confused until he walked over to his draws and picked up what Aria recognised was a foil packet. Standing in front of Aria, he kept his eyes on hers as he dropped his Santa boxer shorts to the floor and crawled over to her, she took this time to gasp as she again ran her eyes over his body.

Wow didn't even begin to describe this moment

He ripped open the foil packed with his teeth but before he could protect himself, Aria snatched the rubber from his hands and did what he was about to do. In that moment his heart burst, the girl below him was like no other

Keeping his eyes trained on hers, he slipped Aria out of her underwear, they were now fully undressed and their minds shut off so they could enjoy this moment. Momentarily cupping her to see if she was ready for him, it caused him to moan just as loud as Aria had before and like a chain reaction caused the brunette beauty to moan too.

With a small nod, Ezra lifted himself and slowly slid into Aria, stopping to let her adjust to him before rhythmically thrusting into Aria at a slow pace before gradually getting faster, her meeting him thrust for thrust. With every thrust he was sure he was at his breaking point but it took all the courage he ever had to hold back

Ezra made her feel things she had never felt before. Sure she wasn't a virgin but never has she ever been in such euphoria like that moment. Ezra felt the same things about Aria, she wasn't like anyone he'd ever met before

Reaching her climax first, Aria screamed Ezra's name and tried to keep up with Ezra as he hit a spot that sent them both over the edge again, and rode out the waves before bringing his mouth to hers and kisses her with the little energy he has left. Rolling over and bringing Aria to his chest and regain their breathing, they never had been so lost in such ecstasy before, her arm lazily strung on his chest, his drooped over her waist.

"Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night indeed"

**The next few weeks are going to be hectic in school but bare with me and this story, i'll try my best.**

**I have the next chapter already written up but suggestions would be great danke**

**Did the sex play out well? i just got too excited for ezria sex and couldn't help myself **


	8. Chapter 8

_Flashback_

_"One time when I was little, I dressed up in my mom's clothing for a fashion show I was putting on" she slurred, looking at nothing in particular on the ceiling "but then she dropped this humungous bowl of chocolate syrup on the floor and thought it would be fun if I slid in it. She was so mad" and with that she erupted into a fit of giggles_

_"But –"_

_"Do you think we could buy some of that chocolate from here"_

_"Aria we're in a bar"_

_"Oh"_

_"I think you're drunk"_

_"I don't think you're drunk enough" she again giggled but this time shoved a bottle of liquor in his face to drink_

_"Remind me why I like you again" he slurred at the same amount as she did and pulled her into a hug. By this time he was even more intoxicated than before. Lightweights_

_"You like me" she pulled back to question, a little more sober after hearing his confession, she was an emotional wreck when she got drunk so after hearing what she knew already had she been sober, tears formed in her eyes_

_"No I like-like that woman over there by the bin" he laughed, finding it so funny he doubled over. Surely enough there was an older woman in her fifties by the bin off her mind being slightly overweight. "Of course I do silly, why else would I be with you?"_

_"Well that's good 'cause I like-like you too"_

_"10… 9… 8…" the crowd chanted in the background, counting down to the new year_

_"Come here" he motioned with his index finger, bringing her closer to his body_

_"7… 6… 5… 4…"_

_"You know how I want to start my new year off?" he whispered, his hot drunken breath being shot down to hers_

_"How?" she said, arms flailing around his neck to play with his baby hairs_

_"3… 2… 1… HAPPY NEW YEAR!"_

_"Like this" swooping down to capture her cherry-flavoured lips with his_

_"That's not a bad idea" she breathed as they pulled apart a few minutes later, the crowds still cheering and welcoming the new year, kissing their significant others and drowning some beers_

_"What do you say about coming back over to mine and finishing this off?" he bent and whispered into her ear so she could hear him clearly_

_"I don't think I can wait that long" she panted more heavily this time_

"ARIA!" all three of her friends snapped in her face bringing her back to reality

"Sorry what?" she attempted to play off the situation

"Oh nothing, just you being out of it for the past 20 minutes. Care to explain?" said Spencer patiently who waited for an answer

"Just thinking about New Years" Aria replied dreamily, not yet noticing her careless response since her friends still didn't know about her relationship with Ezra

"What the hell happened on New Years?" Hanna asked with her famous smirk

"Weren't you just with your grandparents?" Emily asked confused

"What? I thought she was just with Mike?" Spencer asks even more confused.

All three of her friends turned to face her position on the bed, again waiting for her to answer Spencer's other question

"Umm… I think you girls need to know something important" she paused waiting for an objection but all they did was stare at her

"I've been seeing someone and it's pretty new, I just didn't know how to tell you guys"

"Do we know who he is?"

"What's so important about it?"

"Oh my God he's not an axe murderer is he?"

They all spit fired questions at her

"He's from town… He's a little older than us by not too much and he has these amazing blue eyes that I could get lost in" she again began drifting off into her own thoughts

"Okay okay no more details please, who is it?" Spencer interjected before she dazed off for another 20 minutes

"It's Mr Fitz isn't it?" Hanna asked

The remaining two girls began to tell off Hanna for interrupting and for having such thoughts but simultaneously stopped and turned to Aria who was looking down into her lap, playing with her fingers and not saying anything

"Ar?" Emily quizzed causing her to look up

"How did you know?" she asked looking directly at Hanna, avoiding the other two girls

"Did you forget I told you I would meet you at the same bar later that night? You guys are pretty cute I don't know how I didn't see it before"

"MR FITZ?! ARIA HE'S OUR TEACHER!" Spencer yelled trying to get some sense into her best friend's mind

"Ezra" she whispered attempting to help the situation but only making her friend even more angry

"HE'S STILL OUR TEACHER"

"Was" she again whispered

"Okay you need to stop with the one word responses because they aren't helping right now" Spencer said

"So what does this mean?" Emily broke the silence that had descended upon them

"It means that we've been seeing each other for a while and I had to get it out before it ate me alive" she hurriedly said in one breath

"What else has been eating you?" Hanna said but covered with a cough earning her a push from Spencer and Emily but a smile from Aria who appeared to get lost again

"Aria not again, seriously" Spencer snapped her hands in front of her face

"So you slept with him?" Emily asked

"Yeah" Aria simply replied deciding not to keep this from her friends

"So you and Mr Fitz?" Hanna asked stopping the previous discussion

"I know, it's a lot" Aria said to the girls

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Of course I do" she rushed

"Okay I think we should start with the most important emotional question"

"Okay" she let out

And at that moment, Hanna held up her hands, her two index fingers touching before slowly parting and kept moving further away from each other until Aria said 'stop' or anything to stop her but when she didn't, she seriously said

"I'm actually getting worried for you"

"You don't know the half of it" Aria cockily said before changing topics hoping they didn't bring it back up any time soon

When the sun set and the girls were departing Emily's house where they gathered for a pre-birthday ritual, Spencer reminded all of the girls of the lunch they agreed to have on Emily's birthday the next day but Aria was too into her phone messaging Ezra to even pay attention

* * *

"So you told them then" Ezra asked Aria as they were laying in her bed naked the next day, relishing in the feel of skin against skin

"Yeah I did" she said toying with his fingers. He didn't know why she liked playing with his fingers but he never had the heart to ask her why or even tell her to stop

"Well? How'd they react?"

"I think they were shocked at first but then they got over it somewhat. Hanna was pretty excited though, don't ask why. Speaking of, she saw us at the bar on New Years so she knew about us since then"

"What made you tell them all of a sudden?"

"Well I was day dreaming about New Years"

"You mean when I did this?" he flipped on his side and kissed her deeply square on the mouth "Or when I did this?" and rolled over so he was laying between Aria's legs continuing to make out with her, bending her knee so her foot was fully planted on the bed facing the ceiling and felt her leg up and down causing her to let out a moan

"Yeah definitely that" she breathlessly replied when he pulled apart to kiss down her neck and nip on some skin. Feeling him grow against her, she pulled him back down and reached for the box in her bedside table at the same time that he reached for it, their hands met and stayed in that position for a few seconds before he took the foil packet from her possession and laying it on the bed next to them.

"Ezra" she moaned

Instead of replying to her, he understood what she meant and quickly tore to foil with his mouth and placed it over himself and poised himself at her entrance. Without another word he slammed into her causing her to scream

A little while later as they got lost a little more and more into each other, their moans and groans drowned out the screams coming from outside of Aria's room calling for her.

When they both reached their breaking points, Ezra collapsed on top of Aria and began kissing her all over her face from his position, still buried in her and feeling himself getting turned on again by the look on her face and readying himself for round 3… or was it 4? but were broken out of their peace by a couple of teenage girls rushing into their room

"ARIA?!" Hanna, Spencer and Emily all yelled as they barged into Aria's room and were met with a sight they were not expecting to ever see in their entire life

Ezra quickly pulled out of Aria causing her to groan at the loss of contact and pulled the blanket they were under to cover them up to hide anything that might be showing. Ezra coughed after a couple of moments and avoided eye contact with any of the girls standing at the door, looking at Aria's collection of books over her bed while she hid underneath the covers – her head being placed low on his stomach, hand a little lower causing him to jerk her up.

"GUYS! Get out of here seriously" She yelled seeing as they still haven't moved. They quickly left and pushed an unwilling yet impressed Hanna out of the door with them and yelled from outside of the door for them both to get dressed and meet them in the lounge room. They felt like a pair of teenagers caught in the act

* * *

"Ezra you need to go down there" Aria scolded

"No I don't. This is your house, you go" he whined, folding his arms over his bare chest

"You're already dressed, I need to have a shower and get dressed. I can't believe I forgot about this lunch, I'm so sorry"

"Maybe I could join you; you know I'm feeling like a hot shower right about now you know too"

"Go"

"They're my students, and they just caught me having sex. I can't go down there"

"You and Spencer are one in the same I swear" she muttered but giggled at his scrunched up face as she said this

"Please don't mention her when we're discussing sex"

"Were. They were your students, and so was I. What are you trying to say?" she tried to back him into a metaphorical corner. Keeping a straight façade on her face when all she wanted was to laugh

"I can't go down there" he repeated

"You can and you will"

"What's in it for me?" he replied trying to now back her into a metaphorical corner

"Me" she whispered into his ear as she leaned up and pulled away biting on his ear lobe, which he quickly agreed to

* * *

"So" he said attempting to start conversation

Three of his former students were lined up on the couch in front of him. Spencer had a disgusted look on her face but sat contently in between her two friends with her arms crossed. Emily sat on the edge of the couch looking anywhere but at him just like he had done and Hanna sat there with a grin planted on her face, eyebrow quirked which made him feel very uncomfortable

"So" Hanna and Spencer said at the same time; Hanna with a double meaning behind hers referring to what they just witnessed and Spencer who mimicked him

"The sun's out today. Lovely. What are you girls doing here" he said after a few moments of silence

"Question is, what are you doing here?" Spencer shot

She really had no problem with her former teacher; she was just upset that Aria had kept this secret from her for so long, what happened to not keeping secrets from each other?

"I think we know exactly what he was doing here, Spence" Emily whispered but it was loud enough for them all to hear which shocked Ezra at her comment but made Hanna laugh and lean over Spencer for a high-five which she declined and finally decided to face Ezra

He cleared his throat for the second time that day and prayed to God that Aria would soon exit the shower and join them. Nope he can't think about that or even picture that right now

"What do you want with Aria?" Spencer asked after calming down a little

"Aria" he replied simply

"Yes, Aria" she said, mistaking his statement for a question

"No I mean Aria as in I want Aria. This sounds so weird coming from my mouth to you three out of all people, but I mean it" he said sounding more bold as the sentence went on

"Well we all know where you teach, mess with her and you mess with us – it's a package deal" she intimidated, him only nodding in response

"Were you doing… that... With her younger brother in the next room?" Hanna wondered, waving her arm in the direction of the bedroom upstairs

"No – "

"Where is Mike, I haven't seen him in days" Emily interjected

"He went on a road trip with his friends"

At this point Aria breezed into the room smelling fresh like raspberry straight out of the shower dressed in a navy blue and white patterned short jumpsuit and sandals. Ezra couldn't believe how lucky he was to have this girl in his life; he was frozen in time as he watched her walk, like she was a model with the wind machine blowing through her hair.

"Ok so I'm going to go" Ezra said hoping to make a quick escape

"We'll walk out with you. You girls ready?" and got a collective "Yeah" in response

"Bye babe I'll call you later" she leaned up and kissed his smooth lips, so happy she could finally do this without feeling a huge weight on her shoulders

Walking back to her friends waiting by Spencer's car and watching on, she had the biggest smile on her face

"Fitz is packing on" Hanna smirked as they got into the car

_You don't know the half of it_

**I've started writing the next chapter but like this one, it might not be up on time, same for the next few weeks bc exams fml**

**Next chapter: there's going to be some group communication and not just the girls if you know what i mean**

**I couldn't resist with more Ezria sex, don't judge**

**If you didn't realise, i practically took the scene between Donna and Rachel from Suits bc fave**


	9. Chapter 9

The sun was out. The skies were clear. The air felt cool. It was a great day to be alive

"Hey" someone clicks their fingers in front of my eyes "thinking about Fitzy again?" Hanna snickered

"Excuse me, I was just here thinking about how it's been a lovely day to be with you guys again" Lie. But they couldn't know that Hanna was right and I spent the last half hour zoning out and thinking about my boyfriend

"Aria we literally saw you all yesterday… as a group" Emily questioned with confusion laced in her tone

"Yeah she's right" Spencer decides to pipe up. Holy shit. Is she mad at me? What the hell did I do?

"Yeah. She is right, isn't she?" Oh dear Lord. I am so sure without even looking at her that Hanna has this same knowing yet annoying smirk permanently planted on her face

"Doesn't mean it isn't good to be with you all"

"Ok enough with the mumbo jumbo. Let's get to the juicy parts" Hanna said as she leant forward in her place on the couch with her hands entwined in each other

"I have no clue what you're talking about" I mutter in confidence as I pop a berry in my mouth

After the girls picked me up from that ridiculously embarrassing run-in with Ezra in my room, we drove til we ended up at a new restaurant just out of town to celebrate Em's birthday. But so far it's been anything but.

Hanna's been pestering me for information which I've been reluctant to share, Spencer's been a bit edgy with me, I don't think she's happy with me right now and Emily's been the best one out of them all and avoided any topics involving Ezra and I'm not sure if that's a good thing right now, I want my friends to be comfortable around and about Ezra but right now I'm thankful that the encounter at my house hasn't been mentioned

"Was he good? Is that why you aren't saying anything. Wow Aria, didn't know you could be so selfish" Stay calm Aria, Hanna just wants a rise out of you so you can spill some details, don't give in

"Are you feeling okay Han? I have no clue what you're talking about"

"So we didn't just walk into your room and barely see you because our teacher Mr Fitz was lying on top of you doing un-admirable things? You know what Jesus thinks about people who aren't abstinent."

Saying this, she caught the attention of some of the people surrounding us

"Former teacher" why did I need to defend this from everyone

"So you're not denying this anymore? Wow that was easier than I thought"

She got me, I walked right into that one

"What do you want to know?" I give in, it's now or never

"Okay" she claps her hands whilst Spencer and Emily sit back amused with their coffees in their hands, getting ready for this

"Where did you kids meet?"

"Really Han, that's the best you've got? High school. He was our teacher as you so sweetly pointed out, remember?"

"I meant like reconnect"

"He's a regular customer at the brew and then there was the anniversary and the PT interviews and we just got closer but then he took me to this golf court and I swear he acted like a child. I don't know how it changed but it did, he went from being Mr Fitz; Mike's current teacher, our former teacher to becoming Ezra"

"Boyfriend?" Emily asked

"Boyfriend"

"Have you said you loved each other yet?"

"No, Spence it hasn't been that long"

"Long enough for you two to sleep together" she retorted, wow she was fast

"Do you at least feel something stronger than a benefits relationship?" Emily piped up

"Yeah of course, it's just not there yet. I think. I'm on the fence about it and it scares me because I never even felt like this with Noel"

"Does hearing his name make your heart flutter?"

"Yes"

"Whenever you hear his voice, how do you feel?"

"Giddy"

"How do you feel when you're not with him?" wow what's up with the third degree?

"I don't know, lonely I guess"

"You love him. It's going to take some getting used to for me because I still see him like every day around school when there's training on but just from seeing him in your lounge room it was easy to tell he feels the same about you"

Aw I have the greatest friends

"You're so sweet, Em. Come here" embracing her in my arms, I realised I haven't been with my friends as much as I used to and I was determined to fix that

"Spence?"

She let out a deep sigh. Uh oh.

"I don't know Aria, I mean he's still our FORMER teacher but I'm not really annoyed at you for being with him as much as I am annoyed at you for not telling us any time earlier and –"

In that moment a familiar ringtone that I assigned to Ezra filtered through the restaurant. Feeling around my pockets, I couldn't find my phone – that was weird. As I continued to listen in hopes of finding it, the tone was cut off as soon as my eyes landed on Hanna who'd been quiet for so long and with a sheepish look on her face, my phone peeking out from the corner of under her thighs

"Han? What did you just do?" I questioned as I took the phone from her

"Nothing? Depends how you think about it"

"What exactly does that mean?"

But before she could reply, a follow up text chimed through the already thick air

"Look at it?" Hanna suggested. That little -

Aria: I can't stop thinking about you

Ezra: Me neither

Ezra: I can't stop thinking about that thing you do with your hips

"HANNA!"

"Wow okay I was so not expecting that response but that is way better" she said as she stood behind me reading the texts

"What does it say? Spencer quizzed

"Nothing."

"Are you sure?"

"No" Hanna laughed

"Yes" I hissed at her

* * *

"What would you guys think about a quadruple date?" Spencer propositioned later that night while we were all seated on her couch

"Like all four of us and our dates?"

"No, all four of us and our pets. Of course silly"

"Where abouts would we go? I don't know if I'm ready to go out in public with Ezra"

"Not sure yet but if you guys are okay with it, okay it with your boyfriends-girlfriends and we can make some solid plans"

* * *

"Aria I think I'm sick. I can't go, sorry" Liar.

"Ezra you were the one who suggested that we should go to Philly"

"Yes. 'We' as in you and me, just you and me, not all of your friends" he muttered like a little boy

"Well it can be you and me tonight if you know what I mean. For the mean time it's going to be the eight of us"

"I'm sick *fake coughs*"

"Did you just quote Mean Girls?"

"No I did not. You misinterpreted the situation"

Really. He is a little boy.

"ARIA WE'RE HERE. YOU BETTER BE UP AND READY OR ELSE WE'RE GOING TO BARGE IN LIKE LAST TIME!" Hanna yelled up the stairs

"Come on" I laughed "I promise I'll make it up to you tonight" I leaned up and whispered in his ear before moving to face him and planting my lips on his

"Uh huh" he whispered astonished

"Let's go"

* * *

Ezra shifted in his seat nervously as he said in the back seat of Toby's black jeep with Aria beside him, Spencer occupying the passenger seat beside Toby. Ezra sat quietly hoping the rest of the drive to Philadelphia would be calm like it had been for the past ten minutes

Upon leaving Aria's house, it was agreed that Ezra and Aria would ride in Toby's new car with Spencer and Toby while Emily, Paige and Hanna rode with Caleb in his new car that he bought at the same time as Toby, an ongoing bet to see whom could arrive to certain places first, it was a tie so far and Toby was hoping he'd win this one

"Ezra? Babe are you okay?" Aria whispered to her boyfriend as she realised he hadn't made conversation with anyone in the car so far, yet sat stilled with a pale complexion on his face

"Yeah i'm fine" he replied with a fake smile planted on his gorgeous face. She leaned into his chest and he wrapped his arm around her petite frame and smiled down at the girl he was quickly falling for, they both missed a look from the girl seated in the passenger's seat. It's not that Spencer wasn't happy for Aria, it was weird seeing her best friend being all lovey dovey with their teacher. Former teacher. It saddened Spencer that she didn't trust her enough to tell her, she wouldn't tell anybody ever, but it was hard to stay mad at her other half in team Sparia

Quickly making conversation to try and smoothe the waters and cut the tension she tried "So Ezra" his head shot up at the familiar voice, surprised she was even talking to him "how do you know about this place?"

"Oh umm my friend from college just opened this new place"

She was so tempted to make a comment asking if he remembered that they were all underage so it better not be a club but bit at the inside of her cheeks to resist. She was trying really hard to be good for the sake of her relationship with Aria and she wasn't going to ruin it with something she could control

"What sort of place is it?" She finally settled for

"It's a bit of everything. It's a pretty big piece of land so my friend decided he wanted to fit it for all ages, he has one whole level reserved for an all ages club where he gets artists and bands to come through and perform and the other level is a modern restaurant fit for vegans and normal people" the last part earned him a jab in the ribs from Aria

"Ezra where am i going? I have no clue where i am" Toby asked

"Make a left on the top of this road and just keep going straight"

They were silent for the next few minutes until a ringtone filtered through the car, Toby's phone was connected and soon Hanna's chirpy voice filled the car

"FITZY WHERE ARE WE GOING?

"Hanna you know you don't need to scream, we can hear you just fine" Spencer sighed

"I know but it was needed, these 3 are boring" and a collective "HEY" was heard causing the rest to chuckle

"We're almost there Hanna" Ezra laughed

"If we aren't there in 15 minutes i will harm you" she sternly said before abruptly hanging up, leaving Ezra scared and the rest laughing at his expression

* * *

By the time they arrived in Philadelphia, the sun began to set leaving the lands illuminated in cool pink and orange colours

"Ezra, i gotta tell you man, this area looks pretty sketchy" Toby observed

"I'm taking you guys the back way to this place, it would have been so much traffic had we gone the normal way. Just turn at the end of this road and we'll be there, trust me"

Surely enough when they turned right onto the road, competition to get there first long forgotten, soft gasps escaped Spencer, Toby and Aria and they stared in awe at the busy street lit up.

Aria pulled Ezra back as they exit the car parked in reserved spaces Ezra had set up for both cars "Hey… Thank you for this" she said so only he could hear her

He simply nodded with a smile and walked ahead of the group of people lined up in front of the up and coming store Ezra had led the eight of them to. Hanna walking ahead with Caleb on her arm in front of Spencer and Toby, Emily and Paige but behind Aria and Ezra, this was the first time she'd ever been able to cut a line and she wasn't about to let it go easily

"Back of the line" the security guard said

"And i'll do that… After you" Ezra smugly said

'Oh My God' thought the rest of the group. They're going to be banned from this place forever and it seemed really cool.

Why the hell was Ezra acting out of character was the only thing running through Aria's mind

As the rest of the group prepared to be tossed out when the guard raised his head, they were surprised when the hunky man let out a smile and pulled Ezra into a one-arm manly hug, his other hand still entwined with Aria's.

"Ezra what are you doing here man?" the man said after pulling out of the hug

"I just came here with my girlfriend" he smiled, happy he's able to openly admit it

"Who are the others behind you?"

"I have no clue"

"Alright guys back of the line"

"HEY" "EZRA" "WHAT" they all said simultaneously but Ezra just laughed and told the unknown man he was a joking and they're with him

"It's getting cold, why don't you go inside and i'll come find you once my shift ends. Hardy's inside, probably in the arcade like always"

"Thanks N, drinks on me okay" he winked as if it was an inside joke between them that no one understood

"What was that?" Aria asked when they made their way through the passageway

"That was Nathan, he always wanted to be a security guard, Hardy always wanted to own a place like this so they figured they might as well co-own this establishment" he said before coming to a stop and turning to the rest of the group. "Okay, this level's the club, the restaurant is downstairs and so is the arcade, dinner first and then come up here sounds good?"

"Yeah" they all said at once like a choir and followed Ezra downstairs

"Reservation for eight under Zee" he whispered the last part to the waiter hoping no one else heard but they did so when they were being ushered to their table everyone including the usual shy Emily and Paige made fun of him

"Order anything you want, like literally anything"

"Why?" Caleb questioned curiously

"I kinda own part of this place with Hardy and Nathan?" he said more like a question that a statement

"WHAT" now this time instead of saying it as a collective, Aria shouted gaining some stares, one in particular

After ordering and making small talk waiting for their food, as Hanna was about to ask Ezra about he and Aria being bed buddies, a man walked up behind Ezra and placed a plate of avocado in front of Ezra, instead of being confused he once again smiled and turned around, standing in the process

"Hardy"

"Ezra" they said before like Nathan, pulling each other into a hug

"Guys, this is one of my best friends, Hardwell. Hardwell, this is Caleb, Hanna, Emily, Paige, Spencer and Toby and this here is my girlfriend, Aria"

"Girlfriend eh? This the same Aria you've been speaking about?" he not so lowly said causing Aria to blush. "Hardy. Not Hardwell. Hasn't been Hardwell since i became legal and was able to change that unfortunate name" he said as he offered a small wave at everyone, eyes lingering on Aria

"How'd you know we were coming?"

"Well there's only one person i know who has the nickname Zee and then of course i heard your girl screaming from the activity room"

"Arcade"

"Activity room" he said decisively "Okay well i gotta get back to work unlike our other owner, but i'm going to leave you with Jenny here who's going to be your waitress for tonight, let me know if you need anything and i'll come find ya'll later"

"Okay one, why's there avocado on your plate and two, why don't you work here?" Spencer quizzed

"I can't stand avocado and Hardy knows that. I come up here from time to time and work but i like teaching more than this buzz"

"Dork" Hanna scoffed earning her a glare from Aria but a laugh from Ezra

"Zee" Caleb stressed with a laugh "I gotta ask you. One time in high school i had detention but you let me off, why? It's been burning in my mind since and i can't figure it out"

"Do you really think i wanted to supervise a bunch of seniors when i could have been at this place? How old do you think i am?"

"30?" "At least 35" "I don't care but damn"

"Wow okay i was being sarcastic but thanks guys. How rude, ill have you know i'm only 25 thank you very much" he scoffed pulling Aria closer to his side

"Meet here back at 11?" Aria asked the group gathered

They all nodded and were about to part when Ezra called them back

"This VIP section is reserved for us tonight so whatever, if you guys want to sit that's cool" he said to everyone then tugged Aria behind him and whispered "Come with me" leading her to an even more secluded zone of the VIP area

"Oh Mr Fitz, Aria like" she said childishly earning her a laugh

He pulled her into his lap and smashed his lips against hers, savouring the feel of their mouths mashing into one

"Later" she promised, pulling back to whisper but just as quickly pulled him back to her and eventually straddled his lap, his hands resting softly against her hips, a groan escaping both their lips as they continued their make out session

"Ezra?" a voice called causing them to break apart rapidly and stare at the person in front of them

"Oh my God" the both whispered, both for different reasons


	10. Chapter 10

_Previously:_

_"Oh my God" the both whispered, both for different reasons_

"Ezra, is that you son?" Mark Fitzgerald said, cranking his head to try and depict the person whom he thought was his son

"Dad? What are you doing here?" he said standing up to shake his hand before for the third time that night, hugging someone

'Oh my God' thought Aria, the man standing before her looked exactly like her boyfriend only more aged and surprisingly, more buff

"I came to town for business, i was thinking about calling you before i left but speak of the devil, you're here"

"Here i am" after a pregnant pause, Ezra turned from his father and pulled Aria up off the couch "dad, this is my girlfriend Aria Montgomery, Aria this is my dad Mark Fitzgerald"

Fitzgerald? That's another thing she's bringing up later.

"So nice to meet you Sir" she smiled politely shaking his hand

"Please, call me Mark" he smirked resembling his son more and more

"Mark" Aria said whilst cheeks grew red

What the hell was happening

"What are you two doing here?"

"Oh um Aria and I are out on a quadruple date with her friends"

"Right. Like you ever do that… Oh you're serious aren't you? Okay then, this is awkward isn't it" he chuckled nervously

"Dad"

"Right. Well I should get going and let you two get back to doing whatever you were doing. Ezra, nice to see you again son. Aria, such a pleasure to meet you darling, would you two like to come up to New York soon for brunch? Ezra hasn't come up lately and this is the perfect opportunity to meet this little lady" and with that she lifted her spare hand and softly kisses it, a blush forming on her cheeks

"Sounds good, i'll call you. Bye" Ezra rushed hoping to end this immediately.

"That was -"

"Sorry" he apologised

"No, don't be."

"Who was that fine piece of ass?" Hanna asked walking up behind the two

"HANNA" Ezra shouted, feeling more comfortable around her and the rest of the group as the night continued, no longer seeing them as purely his students and vice versa

"Ezra's dad" Aria murmured

"Um dilf much?"

"I know" Aria whispered still in a daze, unaware of what she just said and its affect

"Aria!" Ezra almost shouted. What the?

"What?"

"You just called my dad a dilf. Are you serious right now?"

"Did i?"

"Yes" he said, eyes wide open in shock

"OKAY i'm sorry but you two look almost exactly the same and if you looked like that at his age i wouldn't be disappointed"

"That's it, you're coming with me" he dragged her out of the VIP area and to the back of the club

"Where are we going?"

Without another moment he spun them, pinned her to the wall and kissed her ferociously

"Ezra? What?"

"You just called my dad a dilf" he said with disgust "and i'm going to get that out of your head.. asap" he mutters against her neck

"Uh huh"

"Guys look at Ezra and Aria go. Damn" Hanna whistled from the other side of the room eyeing the pair grossly cute at the back who were so into their moment of passion that they forgot they were in a room full of people

* * *

"Do i look okay?" Aria questioned for the millionth time at Ezra's aparment

"Babe you look fine. Perfect."

"Are you sure because i could probably -"

"No it's perfect. In the car. Now."

"Fine but if something doesn't suit i'm blaming you" she teased

The car ride was filled with small talk until they reached the sign telling them how much further would need to be travelled

"Okay so there are some things you need to know about my family that you don't already. You know my parents are divorced but this lunch is pretty unconventional. It happens once a month and all the Fitzgerald's get together; aunts, uncles, cousins, the whole lot including both my parents and siblings even though we don't all get along, everything is as civil as possible at lunch so hopefully nothing goes wrong today."

"Fitzgerald huh"

"That whole speech and you caught that?"

"Ezra" she demanded

"When i left New York, i wanted to leave everything there. I wanted a fresh start in Rosewood and by cutting half my name off, i could do that. Listen, my family would rather pay people to do things for them than do it themselves and i wasn't okay with that. I didn't grow up with my parents guiding me and showing me what to do. My dad was always off on business and having affairs, my mom was spending all his money while having her own relationships meanwhile my brother and i were left with nannies until we were able to fend for ourselves."

"Ezra" Aria said, this time with more compassion

"It's okay, really, our nanny Jenna was actually a very nice lady" he laughed

As they pulled up into the large Fitzgerald estate, Ezra grew increasingly nervous, he had never brought anyone home for this lunch before while Aria came to terms with this newfound information

The Fitzgerald gates opened slowly in front of the car seating the couple, Aria gasped at not only the size of the house, but the looks of it. The gardens were filled with neatly groomed bushes and hedges, a wonderful array of colourful plants, statues lined the pathway

"One more time. If you chat with my uncle James, make conversation about how you love the Dodgers even though you don't, aunt Sarah would love if you mentioned that you are a foodie and if you so happened to invite her out one day, don't speak about anything you don't want to. Stay away from my cousins Andy and Jessica, you should be okay with the rest, except my mom, stay away from her" he rambled "Here we go" he mumbled as he grasped Aria's petite hand in his own and knocked on the large wooden door

"Ezra, darling, you look amazing, come give aunt Karen a hug"

'Ahhh' Aria thought. 'So this must be the lady that helped raise Ezra and his siblings growing up'

Ezra had mentioned to her that his aunt Karen was from his dad's side and married his uncle Keith and has two children; Lucas and Lily who are 18 years of age apart. Karen was the most level-headed one out of them all and is the 'bestest family member' which caused Aria to laugh at the fact her boyfriend is an English teacher and uses the term 'bestest'

"You must be the Aria that Ezra can't stop talking about"

"And you must be the famous aunt Karen that Ezra can't stop talking about" and embraced each other in a hug as if they had known each other for more than a few minutes

"Come inside, everyone's here already except Lucas and Brooke, they're coming soon with Noah and the twins, they're at the doctors and Lucas is the ever so doting husband and father" she laughed with a glint in her eyes showing how proud she is

As they walked through the Fitzgerald estate, Aria was floored. Ezra's family didn't have money, they had money. The walls were lined up with well known paintings and furniture that would probably cost a fortune, ceilings hung down lights that would probably cost more than her house by the looks of them

One by one, Aria was introduced to Ezra's family who surprisingly were welcoming, especially Mark which Ezra wasn't too happy about. That infamous Fitzgerald smirk which Ezra had inherited could melt Aria's heart in a second and leave her putty. Diane on the other hand was weary and distant like expected and was followed closely by her seemingly side puppy also known as Ezra's cousin, Jessica without Andy who was unable to make it

Right when they were about to be seated at the large, narrow table, the front door bell rang signalling a new family member, Wesley Fitzgerald sauntered into the room explaining that he had misplaced his key as he greeted his relatives but was intrigued by the unfamiliar face seated beside his brother

"Wesley Fitzgerald. Nice to meet you, beautiful. What's a sweetie like you doing here?" He flirted and received a laugh from the occupants except his brother

"Wes this is Aria, my girlfriend. Aria, this is Wes, my brother" he grimaced

"Aria. Wow such a lyrical name"

"Yeah well let's go sit down" Ezra huffed and stomped off with Aria hot on his tail

"Ezra, will you wait up. EZRA!" she whisper-shouted only to be met with Ezra's firm body and she instantly stopped and turned causing Aria to run into him and stumble backwards. His mood suddenly deteriorated as he realised he almost harmed his girlfriend and immediately began to apologise but she was having none of it "It's okay let's just go and eat okay" she fake smiled leaving him more saddened

* * *

Dinner was well and truly underway when the sound of children running and laughing filtered through the air followed by a males voice shouting at them to stop. Suddenly Karen rose from her seat and smirked just in time to be tackled with hugs from her grandchildren Davis and Grace who Aria thought were dressed impeccably for what seemed to be three-year old twins and dawdling behind them, an eight-year old Noah

After saying their hellos and neither parent appearing from the direction the children came from, the question was raised as to where their elders were

"Mommy had to get something from the car and made Daddy carry the heavy presents for everyone from Christmas time" and with that the children burst into fits of laughter, there was something about them that Aria couldn't put her finger on

"So the famous Lucas Scott finally decided to grace us with his presence. Where's that wife of yours ah?" Mark said

Could it be? But how?

"I'm right here, don't get your panties in a twist old-man" a very familiar raspy voice laughed

"Brooke?" Aria questioned

"Aria? What are you doing here?" Brooke asked as she pulled Aria into a hug that was brief due to Brooke's 7 month pregnant stomach

"How do you know each other?"

"What is happening?"

"Ezra what's happening"

Were all questions thrown around the dinner table

"I'm here with Ezra actually. He's my boyfriend" Aria explained still confused as to the situation "What are you doing here? I haven't seen you since mom's funeral"

This time Brooke turned to address the family and told them to join them in the lounge room as the children continued to feed

"How do you two know each other may we ask?" Keith, Karen's husband asked

"Before she got married, Victoria was a Montgomery like Aria here, meaning that her dad is my mom's younger brother and her mom was my aunt. God rest her soul."

Suddenly all eyes were sympathetic and on Aria which made her feel uncomfortable

"Well what are you doing here then?" Aria asked

"Lucas is Karen's son"

"Why haven't i seen you in so long?"

By this point the conversation was purely Aria and Brooke with Ezra listening by her side, everyone else was lost in their own

"You were too young to even remember this let alone be told it. You probably just know i got pregnant at 16. Victoria and Richard found out that i got pregnant in junior year with Noah and basically paid me not to tell anyone since i didn't want to get an abortion which they weren't too happy about." Brooke sighed, still affected by the incident

"Luke and i surprisingly stayed together and moved to New York after graduation. I started Clothes Over Bros, which might i add looks amazing on you" Brooke laughed and felt Aria's classy jumper getting lost in her fashion sense "and Luke published his first book"

"That doesn't explain why you never kept in touch with me. I mean, you were like my big sister and even though i only saw you a few times in the year until you just stopped calling and texting me all together" she sighed and Brooke nodded in guilt and settled into Lucas' chest who entered the conversation and greeted Ezra

"Ezra!" Brooke mildly shouted suddenly remembering his presence

"What?" He asked confused

"How could you not tell us you were seeing someone?"

"Uhhh- i- umm- well" he stuttered

"Did you know we were related?" Aria asked, deciding that she and Brooke could have some fun doubling up on Ezra

"No- what- i-"

"We're just kidding" Aria and Brooke said simultaneously, laughed and then hugged leaving their partners confused

"Lucas. You remember Aria right?"

"Of course. How could i forget the pre-teen girl that punched me when we first broke up. Come here Million Dollar Baby" he smirked

"I told you to stop calling me that" she whined and caused the others to laugh at her

"Okay wait. So Brooke and Aria are cousins. Aria punched Lucas. Lucas is my cousin and married Brooke. Me and Aria aren't related right?" Ezra asked

"You're lucky you're an English teacher. No honey we're not related. I mean we are, but through marriage and not by blood. But distance. Right?" Aria asked getting a little confused herself

"Right"

"So Ezzy-boo, how did you meet little Muhammad Ali" Lucas laughed and dodged Aria's fist "Settle down Tyson"

"You do realise that even though i'm only a few years younger than you and you're a giant, i can still beat you up, right Scott?"

"Calm it Mayweather" Ezra joined in but instead of a first, he just got an Aria nestling her head into his chest from embarrassment "Aria was actually my student at Rosewood High a few years ago"

"Ezra, man…"

"No, no it wasn't like that, i swear. We only started dating in October last year, isn't that right babe? I'm actually her brother Mike's teacher at the moment and she always used to flirt with me when she would make my coffee at the Brew you know? and i was a little stunned at how much of a stud i was and then she couldn't resist me on PT night, i just can't help how good i look sometimes"

"Sure, that's exactly right" they laughed at her eyebrow raising at his statement

"Come on. Let me introduce you to the twins and to Noah again and you can tell me all about Mikey" Brooke laughed after attempting to stand up with her pregnant stomach and dragged Aria out of the room leaving the boys alone

* * *

Later that night the family were snuggled together watching Aladdin while Ezra's mother and cousin Jessica had left in a huff, Grace struggling to stay awake in Aria's embrace and Davis already asleep in Brooke's arms having missed their afternoon nap

Brooke and Aria reaquainted themselves and were pleased to know that even though many years had passed, not many things had changed

It turns out that Brooke and Lucas eloped in college and years later welcomed the twins and didn't let the entire family know, but kept it quiet during Ella's funeral when Brooke decided to return to Rosewood the year prior for the sake of peace and no drama in Brooke's side of the family, as far as they knew, the only time she was pregnant was in her Junior year of high school

It turns out Karen had taken her mother's maiden name after her parent's divorce, then becoming Karen Roe and gave Lucas his father's last name making him a Scott which is why Aria couldn't figure out the connection between families. This left Aria and Ezra feeling a lot closer

Faring everyone goodbye with the hopes of seeing them again, Aria and Ezra made a quick stop at the market before heading to their hotel room. Feeling a bit devious, Ezra left Aria in the junk food aisle to snatch something from another aisle

"Aria?"

Oh no. She knew that voice

"Noel. Hey what are you doing here?"

"I moved here remember"

"Oh yeah" she fake laughed nervously "how's your job going?"

"It's great actually. I'm on a break right now so i thought i'd come by and get some food. The question should be what are you doing here?" He laughed

"Oh you know, just catching up with some family" technically she wasn't lying

"I haven't seen you in a while, did you want to go grab some lunch before you leave? How have you been Ari?" He asked feeling like he connected to her but really she cringed, hating that nickname

"Um -" she was cut off by Ezra who walked up behind Noel with condoms, whipped cream and chocolate syrup in his hands

"For dessert" he smirked but his face fell when he noticed who was standing accompanying Aria "oh um.." he stuttered attempting to shield the items but failing miserably

Noel stood there trying to keep his calm but lost it when he spotted the items in Ezra's hands and pieced together the situation. He laughed sardonically

"So the first time at the Brew you two were together weren't you? You played me for such a fool and i was right the whole time" his voice raising more as the sentence went on drawing attention

"Noel no" she tried

"No Aria. You no." And with that he left the two astonished and reeling from that moment

The car ride back to the hotel was silent and awkward, not one word was said the entire time

As they exited the elevator and went to open their room door, Ezra again apologised for his actions fearing that he just ruined his relationship but Aria silenced him with her lips and pushed him back towards the bed.

He was confused for a moment before attempting to address the situation "Aria?" but all she did was reach over to the items purchase from the store and grinned trying to imitate Ezra's smirk

"Time for dessert"

**A/N: i absolutely love OTH don't judge, so i decided to crossover with it bc Brooke and Aria could be related since Victoria is a Montgomery too so eh and also bc Brooke and Lucas are meant to be together and have two boys and a girl including the baby from the pregnancy scare in season 1**

**i don't know how far Philadelphia is from NY so if it's really far in real life, pretend that they're close together for this**

**Leave suggestions if you want to see something specific**

**_* Re uploaded bc i realised i said Ella was a Montgomery which was wrong :/_**


	11. Chapter 11

"MIKE! MIKE! OH MY GOD, MIKE!" Aria yells sprinting through Mike's bedroom door in her pyjamas, hair a mess, flung in every possible direction

"What do you want, Aria? It's only like 9 in the morning" he sleepily glances at the clock brightly presenting itself on the bedside table by his bed "8! IT'S ONLY 8 IN THE MORNING! ON A WEEKEND!"

If Aria weren't in a hurry she would have laughed at the sight before her eyes; Mike was hardly even on the bed, one of his legs and arms were thrown over the side of the bed, the other arm and leg peeking from under the covers, his mouth was hung open with a little bit of dribble begging to escape

"MIKE! Focus"

"ON WHAT? YOU WOKE ME UP AT 8 TO FOCUS ON SOMETHING" he continued to shout

"Maybe on the fact that Byron just called and said that he and Deb were coming to Rosewood earlier than in a few weeks"

"EXCUSE ME!"

"STOP SCREAMING!"

"HOW ABOUT WE BOTH STOP SCREAMING AND BE SERIOUS"

"OKAY!" Aria shouted one final time before falling to giggles along with Mike

"Byron. Rosewood. Deb. _Why_?"

"Apparently they wanted to come to town a little earlier because the Church they wanted to get married in fell through and they needed to find a new one"

"And you woke me up to tell me that?"

"A little earlier as in _today_, Mike" Aria rolled her eyes at her brother

"Today. WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING EARLIER! WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO"

"I'm going to ignore that screaming. I'm giving you the chance to get out of here before they get here. So we can go out to the city for the day and get back home late so we can miss them or you can continue screaming and stay here"

* * *

"My ex-man brought his new girlfriend, she's like "oh my God!" but I'm just gonna shake. To the fella over there with the hella good hair, won't you come on over baby? We can shake, shake, SHAKE!"

"This has been pretty good so far actually" Mike comments

"Yeaaahh- ohhhhh"

"Tssssss you just ruined it, Mike" Aria cringed as the casualty on stage missed the right note supposed to be sung

For the past few hours, Aria and Mike had been sitting in the same booth listening to the public singing karaoke after they had successfully dodged phone calls from Byron and as much as Aria hated to say it, even from Ezra, which didn't go unnoticed by Mike

"You should probably go up there and sing something"

"Yeah, you first" she scoffs

"Well that's too bad, I already went up and signed you up." When she didn't respond to him at all he noticed something

"Aria, did you hear me? Why do you keep ignoring Ezra?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You're not so subtle as you think. You can talk to me you know"

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Well uhh so you know how a few nights ago i came home early and said i had to wake up early?"

"If you classify 11:30 pm early, then yes i remember you saying that which was one of the biggest lies i've ever heard if you ask me"

"Well i wasn't asking you was i?"

"Actually you kinda wer-"

"OKAY back to the actual story… Ezra had fallen asleep on my shoulder half-way through the movie and he talks in his sleep"

"So do you"

"Well i don't tell people i love them in my sleep"

"Oh"

"Yeah. Oh"

"What did you do?"

"I snuck out, what was i supposed to do?"

"Let's back track. Why did you even consider sneaking out at hearing that, unless…"

"We haven't said 'i love you' to each other yet?" she asked more like a question

A loud bellow of laughter filtered through the karaoke bar emitting from Mike

"Mike stop it's not funny. It's too soon"

"I don't see a problem, you've been together since October, it's practically March now. Do you not feel for him like that?"

"The last time i told someone i loved them, they ended up sneaking around my back with someone else and turned out to be someone i didn't know at all. But i do know i feel more for Ezra than i ever did with Noel so that must mean something right?"

At that moment Ezra's personalised ringtone on Aria's phone flowed in the air. Another phone call.

"Answer it." Mike said with a small nod

"No we're out having fun today, just me and you"

Truth be told, Aria just wanted to avoid Ezra until she knew for sure what she was going to say to him

"Answer it." he repeated

"Oh look it hung up, oh well"

At that moment her phone signalled a new messaged

"He said he wants to see me" she sighed, letting her brother in on her issues fully

"Tell him to come here, i need a bigger audience to hear you sing later"

"I'll be back" she finalised, deciding to finally answer Ezra for the first time in a few days

Half an hour later, one song before Mike was set to go up and sing "Anaconda" as requested by Aria, she felt warm, familiar arms wrap around her stomach, a chaste kiss placed on her cheek. A smile, whether she liked it or not, quickly formed on her face as she turned to face Ezra

The three minutes flew far too fast for Mike's liking so as a failed "Chandelier" by Sia was sung its final notes, Mike's palms began to sweat profusely, heart racing as his fears became a reality. Turning to Aria for comfort, all he was met with was the sight of his older sister leaning into Mr Fitz' chest, his arm around her but instead of them speaking and resolving their issues, Aria was smirking at him noticing his restraint and Ezra was lowly chuckling at the performance on stage unaware of Mike's upcoming performance

"And now, singing "_Anaconda_" by Nicki Minaj, please give Mike Montgomery a warm welcome" the MC announced on stage

"Oh this is going to be great" Ezra whispered from his seat so only Mike and Aria could hear

"Shut up" Mike replied as he finally stood up, the bar occupants watching him as he made his way to the stage

As the first bars to Anaconda played and Mike shifted on his feet in discomfort, Aria couldn't hold it in anymore and finally burst into a loud crackling laugh which caused Mike to visibly scowl in her direction before she hid her face into Ezra's chest

_My anaconda don't_

_My anaconda don't_

_My anaconda don't want none unless you got buns, hun_

_Oh my gosh, look at her butt_

_Oh my gosh, look at her butt_

_Oh my gosh, look at her butt_

_Look at her butt (look at her butt)_

"Aria" Ezra whispered "can we talk, please?"

"About what?" she asked innocently

"Oh i don't know, maybe about why you've been ignoring me for the past few days"

"Ezra…"

"Aria, no. You can talk to me. What did i do wrong?"

"Nothing." she sighed "Honestly, you did nothing wrong"

"Then why are you pretending like i'm just a stranger?"

Both were too engrossed in their conversation to hear Mike finishing off his karaoke song and the audience applauding him loudly

"And now, singing Justin Bieber's '_Stuck in the moment_', give it up for Aria Montgomery" the MC yelled once again after returning to the stage

Aria frowned at Mike's choice of song knowing what it entails and carefully untangled herself from Ezra's newly uncomfortable embrace

Before moving far from Ezra so he couldn't hear her, she turned around abruptly which caused him to jolt in shock

"You talk in your sleep"

'What does that mean?' thought Ezra, multiple thoughts swarming and clouding his mind

Failing to recognise Mike finding his seat back at the booth beside Ezra, Aria kept her eyes trained on Ezra hoping that he wouldn't just laugh at the song but considerably relate to the lyrics she was singing

_With you, with you_

_I wish we had another time,_

_I wish we had another place_

_Now Romeo and Juliet,_

_Bet they never felt the way we felt._

_Bonnie and Clyde,_

_Never had to hide like we do, we do._

_You and I both know it can't work,_

_It's all fun and games,_

_'Til someone gets hurt,_

_And I don't, I won't let that be you_

Ezra couldn't seem to focus enough to listen to the lyrics let alone to comprehend them. The only thing he could think of was the possible things he muttered in his sleep. Why couldn't he have just laughed in his sleep, just this once. Damnit.

_Now you don't wanna let go,_

_And I don't wanna let you know_

_That there might be something real between us two, who knew?_

_Now we don't wanna fall but,_

_We're tripping in our hearts and,_

_It's reckless and clumsy,_

_Cause I know you can't love me, hey_

_I wish we had another time,_

_I wish we had another place,_

_But everything we have is stuck in the moment,_

_And there's nothing my heart can do_

_To fight with time and space,_

_'Cause I'm still stuck in the moment with you_

Ezra was shaken out of his thoughts by the crowd erupting in cheers for his girlfriend who was by now exiting the stage to sit beside him and her brother

"Aria, you were so good, who would have thought you could sing out of the shower aswell" Mike chuckled and pulled Aria into a hug

"I hate you" she murmured

"Wow" Ezra breathed

"Thanks… So, what did you think?" she asked curiously

"It was beautiful"

"Really?" she eyed him

"You blow me away every time you sing"

'Oh' she thought 'so he didn't get the message'

"Mike, get up, you have school tomorrow. You too Ezra"

"Can we get some food first, this bar food isn't enough to fill me up"

"Pig"

"Slob"

"Lazy"

"Scaredy-cat" Mike challenged and all Aria could come up with was to poke her tongue out in response "Real mature, Aria, how old are you again"

Aria simply shrugged and dragged both Ezra and Mike out of the bar by their hands and in their separate cars, drove to what she calls 'the best charcoal-chicken shop'

"I spoke to my dad a few days ago and i brought up Mike's PT interviews with you"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah… He kind of invited you to his wedding now" she laughed "Said he misses his old drinking buddy and you two had to catch up anyway"

"So he invites me to his wedding. Nice."

Mike excused himself from Aria and Ezra whom he could tell from the awkward tension in the room, needed to discuss their falling out

"Aria -"

"Give me one second, i need to use the bathroom" she quickly cuts him off and exits before he has the chance to continue

"Ezra, what are you doing here?"

'Oh crap' Ezra thought 'Byron's here? What the hell? Aria never told me he was back in town. How am i supposed to act normal around this guy when i'm sneaking around his back with his daughter'

"Byron, hey, i'm just here with my girlfriend" he stood to greet his former colleague, pointing to the leopard handbag before quickly retracting his hand hoping Byron didn't realise it was Aria's

"Barbeque meat lover pizza, Aria's favourite"

"Really? I wouldn't know" _Lies_

"Well i gotta run. I don't know if you've spoken to Aria, but i've mailed you an invitation to my wedding, had i known i'd see you here i would have given it to you straight up. I hope i'll see you there Ezra, come over for dinner next week though okay"

"Okay," Ezra said in a haze still trying to find his words "bye"

"Sorry i took so long, there was a queue in the bathroom" Aria laughed once again returning to the table to find Ezra looking into space, mouth hung open "Ezra, are you okay there? You're looking a little flustered"

"Uh- yeah" he cleared his throat and continued determined to find out what he said in his sleep "Aria, whatever i said, i'm sorry. You have to believe me, i was thinking about Jackie earlier in the day so if i said something vulgar i honestly didn't mean it"

A gasp escaped from Aria's petite lips, hand quickly raised to compress the upcoming sob begging to be released, tears forming in her eyes

"Aria, i'm so sorry" he said in hopes of clearing the tension between them honestly believing he said something offensive in his sleep

As if on impulse and sensing his sister's sadness, Mike returned to the table and his smile quickly turned to a frown as he tried to put together the situation in front of him.

"Um"

"Mike, go to the car - NOW!" after seeing Mike complying with her orders, she stood and grabbed what she could of her belongings, getting ready to run to the car, determined not to let Ezra see her tears

'Ezra was thinking about Jackie. Not you.' was the same line running through her mind over and over again

"No. Wait, you're not running from me anymore, what's wrong now?" Ezra quickly grabbed hold of her hand before she could escape him

Quite roughly she snatched her arm out of his reach and instinctively took a step back

"You said 'i love you' in your sleep Ezra. So i advise you to end that relationship before you start another one" she sneered before storming out of her now favourite pastime, restaurant and relationship

'Jackie isn't the one i love' he thought

'I'm not the one he loves' she thought


	12. Chapter 12

It's been four long-tiring days since Aria's final showdown with Ezra and she's felt so worn out that she doesn't feel the need to leave her room

Day-in day-out she's been laying in bed replaying all her memories with Ezra, mourning their relationship. She thought what they had was real, obviously she was wrong. She kept thinking about her first date with Ezra and how magical it had been. How could she be so stupid and foolish to believe in love again, to believe that a handsome, perfect man could love her

Her friends and family had been trying endlessly to get her out of the house, out of her _bed, _but to much of their displeasure, nothing had been working and they all had to attend to work and class to tend to Aria and help her out of this darkness and to talk to them about what had happened which Aria hasn't said

Not even Mike knew what had went down in the restaurant, all he knew was that Aria had ran out crying and not a word escaped her lips from then on and at school he could visibly tell that whatever happened affected Ezra to a significant extent; he was unshaven and slow to respond to students and any situations in class, his eyes were drooping and bags were starting to form.

"Aria" she distantly hears from outside her door, praying it goes away, she lays perfectly still but again she hears someone calling her name now accompanied by knocking "Aria i'm going to school now, there's breakfast still on the kitchen table if you want it."

Food. Yeah, no, she hasn't thought about food in the past few days and she can physically feel herself shrinking and not only in the metaphorical sense. So two hours later when her stomach grumbles for food she trudged down the stairs to find an empty house thankfully and sit in the kitchen eating the now-cold breakfast in peace to again be left with her thoughts

After what seemed like five minutes, in reality was two hours, it was now 11:30 am and the house phone buzzed throughout the multiple handsets placed around the house waiting to be answered which Aria did begrudgingly

"Hello" she answered in a whisper

"Aria" the voice said shocked

"What do you want, Mike?"

"I was just - uh, what are you doing up?"

"I was eating" she said simply

"Wow that's great, Aria"

"What are you doing, aren't you supposed to be in class right now?"

"Right. Yeah uh is dad home?"

"Nope, just me, why?"

"I have half day today but Coach wants the Lacrosse team to stay and have extra practice for semi-finals this weekend. I was going to come home and get my stuff in my free period but i forgot it was half day today so i have no time to come home so since dad isn't there, would you be able to drop it off to me?" he asked hopefully

She was so close to saying no and hanging up the phone, walking up those stairs and wallow in more self-pity but seeing this as an opportunity to move on and hearing the hope in his voice, she couldn't say no to him

"Fine, but only if you go back to class now"

"Who said i even left class? We have Johnson as a sub for Legal today and he's honestly dosing off to sleep right now" he laughed

"Oh i miss that man so much, i'm coming asap, i want to see him" she pouted and hung up the phone quickly, rushing off to shower and get that smell from not having a shower for days off of her

Mr Johnson was an ageing man but he reminded her of Mr Feeny from Boy Meets World so she cherished every second she had with that man.

* * *

Walking down the familiar halls, she checked once more Mike's message telling her which room he was in

'Room 223? What the hell? The Legal rooms should be 8123 and not 223, those are the.. Oh no.. That building is the English department' she thought

She wanted to kill Mike for setting her up to this but then she remembered her old time table and that his Legal class would have finished a few minutes after he had called her and moved off to English.

Damn her for not showering for days and needing to scrub up

She was about to turn around and run from the room which her feet where planted in front of when she heard her name

"Aria?"

His voice creaked from opposite her, that sweet sound escaped his lips and for a second she forgot why they weren't together anymore

"Uh" she stammered and cleared her throat "Mike" she called still from her spot, partially with desperation hoping he could save her but unfortunately he was conflicted in his seat on whether he stands or lets them figure it out

'Way to show where your loyalty lays, brother' she thought

"Mike, can i talk to you?" and finally he rushed up to her and pulled her further outside

As soon as the door behind them closed, she shoved him back after dropping his Lacrosse bag

"What the hell is wrong with you, Mike?"

"You took too long. I was in class trying to prolong it but then everyone literally pushed me out of the class and then we had English. I thought it was week B and i would have had Business but it's week A and now i have English, i'm sorry" he said sincerely

"I hate you" she grumbled like a 5 year old

"I know" he chuckled and pulled her in for a hug that was witnessed by the teacher in the room desperately trying to keep focus

Leaving Mike, she power-walked towards the school's counselor, her old friend and favourite teacher

"Aria… Aria wait" _he _called from behind her, jogging up to catch up to her

Ezra couldn't help it anymore and set a quick impromptu test for the class to do so he could speak to his girlfriend - _ex-girlfriend_. His heart hurt to think about it so he had to clear it up. Urgently

Fortunately for him she turned around and he didn't need to continue to drag himself through the hell also known as running or like in this case, barely jogging

"What do you want, Ezra" she sighed

"I want to talk to you, that's what" he said a bit harsher than he intended which caused her to take a step back

"Excuse me" she asked flabbergasted

"I'm - i'm sorry that came out wrong. Please, 5 minutes tops" he begged

"Are you forgetting that you're supposed to be teaching a class right now, Mr Fitz" she laughed

"Right. Shit."

"Language, Mr. Fitz. I don't think i appreciate my younger innocent brother to be hearing such horrific language" she scolded attempting to cover up the smirk waiting to play on her face

His sweet laugh filled her ears and was reminded of how things used to be before they got complicated

"Sorry. Tonight, can you come over, please?"

"I think Byron wants to take Mike and I out without Deb so…"

"Tomorrow?"

"Ezra -"

"Aria… Please, i need to explain"

"Explain what? Explain that you want to break up with me or explain to me that you were thinking about your ex-girlfriend and still love her or explain to me that you want to get back with her, the woman i have to see every day at Hollis huh?" she spat and hurriedly turned and exited the building despite hearing his shouted pleas behind her

* * *

After storming out of Rosewood High, Aria met with her best friends who were happy that she had at least left her house and got out of bed

"Aria, oh my gosh i have so much goss to tell you" Hanna rushed to tell her

"I think we should probably discuss more relevant things than Becky from AP English senior year getting knocked up by the nerd Billy Jones, Hanna" Spencer remarks

"Says a nerd… And i was the one trying to tell her, Spencer so thanks for that" she huffed

"Oh i'm sorry Aria, Hanna has some important information to tell you"

"No… You just ruined it now"

"I'm going to get drinks… Aria, did you wanna come with me?" Emily asks and recieved an affirmative nod from Aria

"So, how have you been?"

"Total honesty?"

"Total honesty." Emily smiles noticing Aria falling back to her old routine

"It sucks. I haven't told you guys what's happened yet but it sent me somewhere bad" Aria sighed

"Mike's concerned for you, you know?"

"I know, he witnessed some of what happened but doesn't know what it was about"

"I know we aren't as close as we used to be but you know you're like my sister and you can come to me if you ever want to talk, something important or not, i'm here; always"

"I know, Em, thank you"

"ARIA!" Hanna hollers from their table opposite where Aria and Hanna were collecting their coffees

"What?" she answers on their way back to the table

"Ezra's been calling you non-stop, what's wrong with you two?"

"Um-"

"It's okay you don't need to tell us" Spencer whispers, gently rubbing her hand up and down Aria's arm

"No, no i can do this, i should do this." she cleared her throat "I found out Ezra speaks in his sleep"

"And? We already knows he laughs in his sleep, so what?"

"He kind of said 'i love you' in his sleep"

"OH MY GOSH, ARIA"

"HOW CUTE"

"NO WAY"

All three of her friends rushed out at once, moving their seats to be closer to Aria

"Wait… So why are you dodging his calls all of a sudden, this is a good thing" Spencer observes

"He said he had been thinking about his ex-girlfriend Jackie earlier that day meaning what he said was about her"

Gasps were heard all round their table

"Pretty much" Aria whispers

* * *

"Ezra, man what are you doing here?" Hardy asked surprised once he found his business partner and best friend sitting at the bar ordering shots of straight tequila and hard liquor again and again

"She broke up with me" he said before taking another shot

"What? Man i'm so sorry, i really liked her"

"That doesn't help"

"Hey hey hey, stop this drinking, you hardly ever drink"

"I do now" he slurred with a drunken laugh

"What happened?"

"She said i said 'i love you' when i was sleeping…"

"It's not the best way to tell a girl you love her that's for sure, but why was that a problem?"

"It wasn't until i told her i had been thinking about Jackie earlier in the day"

"Ezra…"

"It's not my fault, she was being suspicious about what i said in my sleep and didn't tell me what so i assumed that it was something vulgar and she got offended"

"Why were you thinking about Jackie though, that's been over and done with for years now"

"She called me and told me she broke up with Harrison because she still loved me, not that i cared but she thought i did and we had an argument with not so nice words"

"Uh - " Hardy stumbled looking for the right words to help his friend "So do you love Jackie?"

"Me? Love Jackie? You're so funny Hardy, i never even loved her back then, what makes you think i love her now"

"I just -"

"But hey it doesn't matter anymore right?" Ezra laughed, reached over the bar and grabbed a bottle of Jack Daniel "The only good thing going for me just left me but it's okay because i got my buddy Jack here"

"Excuse me" Hardy said before making his way to the bathroom and pulled out his phone as well as Ezra's which he had secretly taken from him, scanning the room making sure Ezra couldn't hear him before quickly dialing a number

* * *

"I'll be back you guys" Aria said to her friends before rushing off to the bathroom, tears threatening to spill over

"Wow" Spencer breathed

"Um who's number is this?" Hanna asked showing her friends

"I don't know? Answer it and put it on speaker" Emily suggested

"Hello?" she asked

"Uh is this Hanna, Aria's friend?" the voice asked

"This is she, who is this?" her curiosity by this time had heightened

"This is Hardy, Ezra's friend"

"Why are you calling me? How do you even have my number?"

"You saved your number in Ezra's phone as 'Han-dizzle' bracket Aria so i assumed it was the same Hanna i met at the club"

"Anyways?"

"Um there's been a misunderstanding…"

"We know" Spencer bit back, protectiveness over Aria quickly rising

"No no no, i don't know if you guys know the whole story but-"

"We do" Spencer spat

"Ezra just told me that he had argued with Jackie in the day and she wanted to get back together with him because she loved him -"

"That doesn't help"

"Will you please just let me finish my sentence off, thank you. They had been arguing and he rejected her, he thought he had swore at Aria in his sleep and she was offended. He loves Aria, he really does, he was going to bring her up this weekend to his cabin to tell her but she had been ignoring him which we know why now"

"So what made you call me?"

"Ezra's in pretty bad shape here, he's knocking drinks back left, right and centre, he never drinks like this, never. I need your help. He can't drive and i can't leave here"

"Call a cab"

"Please," he begged "just someone come up here and take him home"

"We'll be there soon" Spencer sighed finally deciding that they should have been reasonable and found out the whole story before judging the man she has come to call her friend, oddly enough

* * *

"Where are we going?" Aria asked

"Just a quick detour" Emily said from the driver's seat

"Detour? We left Rosewood, where could we be going?"

"You'll see" Hanna smiled from next to her

"Oh no, no, no. You guys what are we doing here?"

"We need to pick something up quickly" Spencer laughed at the meaning behind her own words

"From _here_ though?" she whined

"Yes, now shut up and get out of the car"

"Ezra?" Aria asked trying to figure out the lone figure before her eyes

"Her guys, thank you so much - oh, Aria, i didn't know you would be here" Hardy said rushing up to the group of girls, Aria behind him still walking up to Ezra

"Ezra?" she repeated

"Aria? Baby i had this craziest dream about us" he slurred

"Are you drunk?"

"Maybe a little" he laughed

"Come on, let's get you home" she sighed

"It wasn't a dream was it?"

"What wasn't?"

"Us breaking up" he sighed

"No it wasn't" she shook her head

"But -"

"Hardy help me take him to the car please?" which he did so willingly and walked ahead of the group

"Hardy, man, why won't Aria answer me?" Ezra asked, forgetting he had been with Aria the minute prior "She's got it wrong. I promise i don't love Jackie, you believe me don't you?"

"Yeah bud, i believe you"

"Then why doesn't _she_. How could she think i love Jackie, i don't know what i did wrong"

By this point Ezra began to cry softly against Hardy's shoulder as they walked to the car, the girl's hearts breaking slowly as they listened to the private conversation

"Let's get you home, doesn't that sound good?" Hardy asks trying to change the conversation

"ROW, ROW, ROW YOUR BOAT, GENTLY DOWN THE STREAM. MERRILY, MERRILY, MERRILY, MERRILY, LIFE IS BUT A DREAAAAAMM" Ezra sings as Hardy literally shoves him in the back seat of the car

"Sorry guys, drunk Ezra is really something if you haven't been able to tell already. Aria now you're here can you show them to his apartment and make sure he's safe before you leave him? I'll check on him tomorrow, i just can't leave here now"

"No problem" she replies pulling him into a hug

_Don't try to explain your mind_

_I know what's happening here_

_One minute it's love_

_And suddenly it's like a battlefield_

_One word turns into a war_

_Why is it the smallest things that tear us down?_

_My world's nothing when your gone_

_I'm out here without a shield_

_Can't go back now_

_Both hands, tied behind my back for nothing_

_Oh no,_

_These times when we climb so fast to fall again_

_Why we gotta fall for it now_

"Uh Spence?" Aria cleared her throat "Can you turn the radio off please?"

"Yeah sure" she said disregarding the fact that Aria was having a hard time with the lyrics playing

It was quiet until suddenly Ezra began singing again which caused the girls to laugh at his drunkenness

_Do you believe in life after love_

_I can feel something inside me say_

_I really don't think you're strong enough, _

_Now_

_Do you believe in life after love_

"Ezra, sweetie wake up" Aria said noticing his eyes were still closed

"ARIA! YOU'RE HERE! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH BABY YOU NEED TO BELIEVE ME" he yelled causing the others to wince

"I know baby, i know"

"Then why did you break up with me? I thought you loved me too"

"You don't love me, Ezra"

"I do, i promise on my life i do. You don't love me do you?"

"Ezr-" but be cut her off with his snoring

"Aria?"

"I'm okay, i swear"

"I know that… What i'm asking is, do you love him?" Spencer asked

"Yeah i think i do"


	13. Chapter 13

Ezra was disturbed from his unconscious state by the sunlight crashing through his windows as his blinds were torn apart by an unwanted guest

"Ezzy-boo, wake up" the voice said in a far too cheery voice for the morning

"Go away" he mumbled before turning to bury his face in his pillow only to have it ripped from under his hear a bare minute later

"Aww come on you're no fun. It's almost 1 pm and you're still in bed, what would your mother say about that?" Hardy laughed

Ezra jerked up in his bed with wide eyes but quickly regret it and fell back as his head began pounding wildly.

1 pm? How long had he been sleeping for?

Parts of last night came flooding back to Ezra causing his head to hurt even more, he wasn't so young anymore, why did he think he could drown so many drinks back?

"What happened last night?" he groaned

"You really don't remember do you?" Hardy laughed "What do you remember?"

"There may have been vodka" he tried to joke "I just kept ordering drinks. I think i was singing nursery rhymes?"

"Don't forget dancing hard-out on the dance floor. My man, definitely know how to draw in a crowd don't you?" he pat him on the back sharply, a painful groan emitting Ezra

"Tell me you're joking"

"Unfortunately not, but fortunately for you someone recorded it and put it on youtube. I'm so jealous of you, in only a few hours you have a thousand views already"

"'What it looks like to be heartbroken and going through a mid-life crisis?' who even thinks of a name like that, why does everyone think i'm old"

"Stay here and watch the video, i promise you won't regret it, i'll go make you some coffee"

The video started off with Ezra being filmed singing 'Mary had a little lamb' at the bar by himself, to making his way over the bar to get his own drinks, stumbling to the dance floor where he ripped some buttons off his shirt and drunkenly danced to the music playing before finally crumbling to the ground in tears cursing at women in general as a slow song about heartbreak came on

Looking at the top comments on the video, he saw an all-too-familiar name

"Fitzy, why did you never sing like that for us when we asked ;)"

Hanna. Marin.

That girl would be the death of him

"No, God please no"

"Sorry to say so bud, but that happened"

"Did you bring me home? Why didn't you just leave me in my clothes instead of changing me?"

"Well not exactly" he said vaguely. Ezra looked at him confused "Yes, it was me, you just changed yourself, thankfully, i never want to see what i saw a few summers ago"

Hardy chose not to reveal the truth hoping this process would be easier for Ezra if he didn't know the truth

"You don't get to say that to me, i didn't want to show you but you're the one who insisted on showing you where i got bit by than stupid bull ant. may i please reiterate that you were the one who insisted on me being a third wheel to one of your girls and left me to sit on the hill that you knew was there but never told me" he scowled

Ezra would never forget that day and the consequences of that day

"You have a message, do you want me to play it?" Hardy asked thanking all the mighty Heavens above that Ezra didn't question his mishap

"Uh, yeah sure" Ezra mumbled, sinking back into bed hoping for more sleep

"Hi, Ezra it's Byron Montgomery. I hope you haven't forgotten the lunch today we spoke about last week. Just pop on over around 2 if that's still okay and don't worry about bringing anything, ok thanks, bye" the message beeped

Both Ezra and Hardy stared at each other in shock before glancing at the clock; "1:30 pm" it read, he had half an hour to shower, get ready and be at the Montgomery house

"Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit" he yelled running into the shower, momentarily forgetting his raging hangover

"Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit" he again yelled, now for different reasons. Had it not been him and let's just say Hardy, he would have laughed his head off and told him he was stupid and it was his fault. Karma really is a bitch

The whole time in the shower he was trying to compose himself and figure out what he'd say to Byron; how he'd act around the Montgomery's and prayed that this would be his chance to see and explain himself to Aria

Aria.

He promised himself that if he'd get a second chance with her that he'd do whatever he could to hang on to her and never let her down

* * *

With Hardy's help, Ezra was able to exit the shower and find clothes already ironed and laid out on his bed; coffee hot and begging to be drank

Arriving 5 minutes late to the Montgomery house, Ezra waited on the doorstep wondering what this lunch would entail. It was kind of awkward for Ezra to be around his girlfriend's, _ex-girlfriend's _dad

His heart strings tugged as he thought about his lost love

"Ezra. Come in, come in" Byron's voice broke him from his thoughts "I thought i told you not to bring anything"

"It's no problem, really"

"MIKE! COME DOWNSTAIRS!" Byron yells

Mike's here. Oh God. Where's Aria?

"Aria's gone out with Deb for the day, sorry she couldn't be here"

There is was. Disappointment spread across Ezra's face but quickly replaced with a stoic look

"Ezra? Hey, what are you doing here?"

"Mike i told you we had a guest coming over, i hope this isn't weird for you"

"Nope. Definitely not weird, dad"

'Fuck' thought Ezra. Did he know? Oh God. He began sweating like a pig at the look on Mike's face, he thought he was cool with Mike but he guessed that he knew what happened, but clearly not all of what happened

Another person to make it up to.

Lunch in the kitchen progressed into the lounge room for a few hours where Byron quizzed Ezra about his life and to watch the football which Ezra was having a hard time focusing on, he couldn't stop staring at the framed pictures of Aria around the house, sure there was the rest of the family but that one particular smile…

Suddenly the door sprung open to view the woman Ezra could guess was Deb, Byron's soon to be wife, the woman he had heard about so many times during the day

As he was introducing himself to her, he came face to face with the person he was hoping to see. She came through the door frame, wind blowing perfectly through her hair making it look like a cliche imagination, she hung up her phone frozen in shock at the man standing before her

"Aria, you remember Mr. Fitz right?"

A sobering laugh escaped her sweet lips as she took a step closer to Ezra

"Yeah, of course i do, how could i not? Hello, Mr Fitz"

"Please, call me Ezra… Aria from the block"

When Aria was growing up, she was convinced she would grow to be exactly like Jennifer Lopez because they had the same upbringing, which Aria didn't really have but never listened to anyone who told her otherwise

"DAD!" she yelled "Are you serious right now? When i said don't mention that story to anyone, that includes my b- former teacher" she caught herself momentarily before exposing their secret

She turned back to Ezra whose eyes were wide with fear that he would have to face Byron in a confrontational way

"Ezra, would you like to stay for dinner, we have more than enough here" Deb asked sweetly after sensing discomfort

He sighed in relief

"Sure, if that's okay?" eyes never leaving Aria's, he stayed gazing into her eyes asking for permission

So many things could go wrong during this dinner, so many things clouding his brain. But then again, so many things could go right for him, for them; but it was up to her, all of it was up to her

"Aria, could you show Ezra up stairs to the bathroom, he looks like he's about to pass out, it must be too hot in here"

Somewhere in the distance, presumably from the next room, they heard Mike laugh out loud at Byron's statement, a matching smile playing on Ezra and Aria's face

Ezra decided to make small talk with Aria during the small window they had to speak

"Last night - "

"Listen, i really didn't know where the girls were going. We were out and i assume Hardy called Hanna to pick you up because he was still working and they never told me where we were going" she rambled

What was the talking about?

"And i'm sorry if i overstepped my boundaries but i couldn't let you sleep in those jeans, i know how much they make you itchy and how much you hate sleeping in your clothes from the day"

"You were there last night?" his mind floated a million miles away trying to recall what he blacked out, slowly it all came back to him

"Yeah? What were you tal -"

A familiar pair of lips crashed into hers, he saw his window quickly closing and took a leap of faith hoping he wouldn't fall, and surely enough when he felt her reciprocate he knew that she was there to catch him and he would be just fine

"You make it so hard to be mad at you when you do that" she whispered breathlessly

"Aria, i - "

"I know, it just stings now"

"Jackie means nothing to me"

"What you said, it's okay"

"No it can't be, i did this to us whether i meant what i said or not" the guilt crept back up

"Well that's too bad, i forgive you" she kissed the side of his lips

"What does this mean for us?" he asked looking right into her eyes

"I still have feelings for you if that's what you're asking" she teased "I just need to build up that trust back with you, if that's okay" he nodded quickly, if that's what it meant to be on good terms with her, then he was back on that train so fast, he'd do anything to have her in his arms as his again

"Are we… together?"

"Do you want to be?"

"Do you need to ask?"

There was the playful banter he'd missed so dearly

"How did you know what happened if you never let me explain?"

"You told me last night when you were singing 'Row your boat' it was pretty cute if i must say"

"Cute?" he asked while walking them back against the wall where he intensified their kiss

"Uh huh"

"ARIA! EZRA! DINNER'S READY"

"I love you" he whispered in her ear

A smile played on her lips, butterflies filling her stomach. Still unable to say those words she grabbed his hands and pulled him down the hallway

* * *

Days passed quickly for both Aria and Ezra, they were taking steps in the right direction to how they used to be

They woke in each other's embrace a few days later, the day of Byron and Deb's wedding. They still hadn't addressed two major topics which they were treading around, Aria saying 'i love you' and Jackie

"Ezra, baby we need to get up" she whispered in his ear but his response was to pull her even closer to him and snuggle his head into her chest

"5 more minutes"

"Why waste 5 minutes on sleeping when we can spend it doing something else?"

"Coffee?"

"Coffee." she agreed, but 5 minutes later she was seated atop the counter and instead of a coffee cup on her lips, Ezra was and the coffee cup was long gone

They hadn't told their friends they were back together, why, they weren't too sure but they felt it was more secretive this way and as cheesy as it sounded, they like it being their secret

However, hours later when Aria was supposed to be helping Deb get ready to walk down the aisle, her nose was stuck in her phone, smile planted on her face messaging Ezra who was making fun of some of the guests and her friends who were also with her saw her facial expressions every few minutes when her phone buzzed

The moment Aria stepped out onto the aisle and made her way to the alter, her eyes immediately found Ezra's whose mouth was wide agape, and not her friends who has knowing smirks on their faces beside him

When he saw her in that faint pink dress he couldn't help but imagine the wedding he'd planned in his head to Aria

"Today we are gathered here on this wondrous occasion to celebrate..."

Nevermind the wedding happening, Ezra's eyes were glued to Aria's the whole ceremony, it was like he couldn't get enough of her.

Seeing as though he only saw Aria that entire time, he failed to see the woman who ruined he and Aria the first time. So while he was waiting by the bar in the hall for Aria to return from taking professional photos he was surprised to see Jackie take the empty seat beside him, he tried desperately time after time to move further away from her and create some distance between them but much to his displeasure it didn't work and she started up a conversation

"You clean up nicely" he cleared his throat and took another step away from her

"Ezra will you stop moving away from me and talk me to me for once"

"I have nothing to say to you" he mumbled looking around, praying to the Heavens above that someone would rescue him soon from his living Hell

"But - "

"No, this is a wedding for one of our colleagues and it's highly inappropriate to have this conversation anytime, let alone now"

"I love you, Ezra, what more do you want me to say?"

"Nothing, i want you to drop this, i have a girlfriend"

"If you had a girlfriend you wouldn't be here with me" she said as she leaned in closer to him

"EZRA!"

Thank. The. Lord.

He didn't care who it was, he was just happy someone saved him

"Fitzy why are you here alone by the bar?"

"Uhh this is Jackie, she's a professor at Hollis too"

"I think i've seen you before actually, i think it was a few weeks ago in the city in an adult store which was surprising, i never pegged you to be one of those people"

If looks could kill, Hanna would be ten feet under, Jackie was shooting Hanna mental glares while also blushing profusely

"So what was it you said you were doing, Fitz?"

"I was just getting a drink and waiting for someone, Hanna"

He could tell that she wanted to so dearly ask him about being next to Jackie but she knew it wasn't the right time to bring up, which he was thankful for

"Can you get me a drink too while you're at it" she asked choosing to play it to her advantage

"Not until you're legal, no"

"Is that why you waited a few years before shagging - " it was Jackie's turn to turn to him questioningly

"Oh look Mike's here. We like Mike" he didn't mention Aria there beside Mike

"Don't you walk away from me Fitzy" she yelled, walking hot on his tail

"Dance with me?" he asked while not waiting for her answer but grabbing her hand and leading her to the dimly illuminated dance floor away from Hanna

"You look beautiful" he whispers in her ear

"You don't look to bad yourself, mister"

"Was that Jackie i saw you sitting with before?" she whispered trying to hide her jealousy

"Aria, it wasn't like that. What happened to you learning to trust me?"

"I'm trying, i know"

He sighed "She came to sit by me while i waited for you, but thankfully Hanna came to save the day in her own Hanna-like way"

"Oh, Lord"

"Basically" they swayed silently for a few moments "But she did try to hit on me... And get back with me"

Aria stayed silent and reflected on what her boyfriend had just said; her insecurities were rising back up, Jackie was an older woman, Ezra's age and was more mature than her. Ezra had a longer history with her. She attempted to erase those thoughts just as fast as they entered her mind and focused on her goals of trusting him again.

"When i saw you walking down that aisle, wow, i couldn't breathe, it felt like i was looking at you from the front of the alter"

"Really now?"

"Yeah"

"Ezra…"

"Mmhm?" he swayed to the beat, eyes searching the crowd to watch for any lookers

She momentarily stopped swaying and pulled his face down to stare directly to hers

"I… I love you" she cleared her throat "It scares me"

"Well it's a good thing that i love you too babe, we'll get through this together, i promise"

Failing to realise they caught the audience's attention and forgetting where they were, who they were surrounded by, Ezra swooped his head down and caught Aria's lips in a passionate kiss

One that definitely caught the eyes of a few people

Byron Montgomery himself being one of them… And he wasn't too happy

**The awkward moment i forgot my password...**


	14. Chapter 14

"Ezra" Aria whispered pulling back and touching her lips, the sensation of Ezra's lips on hers causing her to get flustered "What was that?"

"That was uh, me kissing my beautiful girlfriend"

"People are staring, Ezra"

"Fuck" he swore momentarily forgetting where they were, the feeling of having Aria in his arms again overwhelmed him and clouded his mind

Prepared to fully move away from him, Ezra pulled her back closer to him and rubbed her back soothingly before leaving his hand resting on her lower back

"Don't" he said softly yet forcefully

"Don't what?"

"Pull away from me just because we're in front of other people"

"Those 'other people' are my family and friends"

Peering out using her peripheral vision, something, more like someone caught her attention

"My dad's looking directly at us" she said trying to keep her calm facade despite her rapidly beating heart

Surely enough, Byron Montgomery was across the room with his new bride, Deb, but his steel-brown eyes were burning a hole through the heads of his daughter and colleague.

Still swaying to the song playing, Ezra subtly danced his position around and momentarily looked up where Aria previously had. Just as she had said, Byron was still throwing mental daggers his way, the wine glass in his hand was under so much pressure from the older man that Ezra thought it was crack at any second, knuckles turning white due to the amount of pressure.

"I'm sorry" he sighed

"Don't" she retorted playfully mimicking him earlier

"Well played"

Before she could continue she saw Byron place his glass down as if he were to walk their way

Not wanting to make a scene, Aria placed her hand on Ezra's cheek to look at her

"Byron is possibly coming our way. We have enough time to face him now or get out of here"

"We have to speak to him about this, Aria"

"I know, i know. Just not.. Now"

Making his move towards them, Aria tugged on Ezra's hand and pulled him towards the back exit passing by her friends and Mike along the way who understood what was happening without a word being said

"Ladies and gentlemen, i'd like to welcome the maid of honour, Aria Montgomery to the stage to begin speeches"

"Crap" she cursed under her breath before slowly turning and walking towards the stage

'Stupid Aria' she thought 'how could you forget that?'

"Aria, there you are, come on up sweetie"

As she stepped up on the elevated stage, butterflies formed in the pit of her stomach. It wasn't that she was shy, she wasn't, just the thought of all these people staring at her after she publicly made out with her older-former-teacher-boyfriend

But alas, she stood straight and said all the cliche wedding toast things but was suddenly inspired mid-speech

"But seriously dad, you've made me believe in love again. I look at you and Deb and am reminded that there is good in the world. Not only have you taught me how to live, you've taught me how to love, you're my mentor, my pest control man, my carpenter, my teacher, my best friend but most of all, you've been my dad. I love you daddy and wish you nothing but the best"

By the end of her speech, not only was she teary but she looked up and found that her speech caused Byron to soften up and become emotional rather than icy towards her since revealing her relationship with Ezra

She realised she had kept eye contact with Byron for far too long when she was pushed off the stage for Mike to say his speech.

Making her way over to Brooke and Lucas, she noted how in love they both looked at each other without even saying anything to the other, she wanted that

"Hey guys"

"Aria" Lucas nodded toward her

"What, no Million Dollar Baby references this time?" she asked skeptically

"No, i figured you've jumped to TV drama instead of movies. That was quite a show on the dance floor young lady"

"You guys saw that?"

"I think it'd be easier to count who didn't see that rather than who did"

"Alright funny guy" Brooke interjected "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, i guess"

"When did you get back together, the last time i spoke to you, you said that you two had split up"

"A few days ago, it was a silly misunderstanding"

"That's not what you were saying a few days ago"

"I wasn't thinking clearly"

"Fair enough, just don't get too caught up in it, you're still young" Brooke said looking directly at Lucas behind her shoulder

Brooke may have got pregnant at an extremely young age but Aria knew that she didn't regret a thing

"Lucas, hey man i didn't know you were coming" Ezra said, coming behind Aria placing his arms around her waist

"You're one to talk, i'm legally binded and blood related to this family, i don't know what your excuse is" he smirked

"Oh no mister, do not use your kids again" Brooke laughed

"Brooke" Ezra greeted with a kiss "Nice to see you have kept him around, always a pleasure, don't know how you do it though" he sarcastically remarked "Now if you don't mind, as much as we'd love to stay and chat, i'm going to take my lovely girlfriend away from you both"

Ezra led Aria to the back of the reception hall and pulled her into his arms with a forceful kiss

"What was that for?" she breathed

"God, i love you so much" he sighed against her lips

"Ezra, baby" she whispered "Come with me"

She pulled him into the women's bathroom and pushed him into a cubicle on the far end. Not letting him say a word, she launched herself onto him

Mid way through their hot make out session, his shirt and tie were lazily thrown open as Aria attacked his chest with her lips, teeth lightly nipping his pecks earning a guttural moan from him.

She reached down in between them and tugged at his belt til it came undone

Stepping forward so she would be caught between the wall and himself, Ezra loved and cherished Aria like he'd never before. They'd gone at it rushed and hard, soft and slow but this time something was different, they both felt it

Coming down from their high, the door was knocked open in a rush.

Moans filled the air, familiar voices were heard causing both Aria and Ezra to pause

'_Oh no_' they both cringed and thought '_Please, God, no'_

Fifteen minutes later Aria followed by Ezra stepped out of the bathroom and walked up to their friends looking as if they had seen a ghost judging by the looks on their faces; skin as pale as snow

"Hey guys where were you?" Toby asked but neither was able to even mutter a word after experiencing what they just did

"What's wrong?" Hanna asked

"Carter" Aria said

"Emma" Ezra said just as hazed as Aria

"Bathroom" she followed

Funnily enough, at that moment a squeal emitted from the mouth of Emma Henderson, Aria's former teacher and a laugh from Mr Carter, Mike's lacrosse coach

"I think i'm going to be sick" Aria blurted causing the group to look back their way

"This is great" Hanna laughed. Pausing a moment to put the pieces together "Why were you two in the bathroom… together?" she quirked her eyebrow "Ezra, you dirty dog"

As if on cue, the boys put out their hands to Ezra for an awaiting congratulations high-five

"Later" he whispered trying not to let Aria hear him and trouble him

"EWWWW" Emily squeaked "I'm guessing Miss Henderson is the one Coach has been speaking about in the locker rooooomm, no no no please no"

"Tell me about it" Aria sighed and sat down with the girls while Ezra trotted off with the guys who started up a relatively similar conversation

"So… What were you doing in the bathroom" Hanna asked

Without replying, Aria bent her head down so her friends wouldn't see her blush and smile thinking about it

"How was it?" Caleb asked

Without replying, Ezra's face contorted into a huge grin and held his hand out for the high-five he promised earlier

* * *

Waking up early hoping to avoid her dad before he and Deb left later that day for their honeymoon, she slowly stepped downstairs for a peaceful

She hoped wrong

Sitting at the kitchen table facing her way was Byron slowly sipping on his coffee. She had contemplated turning around and escaping back to her room but his voice stopped her

"Aria"

"Dad" she laughed nervously "What are you doing up this early after your wedding?"

"Oh you know, just thinking about yesterday"

"Yeah? It was pretty magical wasn't it?"

"Mmmm" he mumbled "There's one highlight of the night that keeps playing through my mind"

"Your first kiss, i think i have some photos, let me go and get them" she dashed up from her chair hoping for a clean get away

For the second time that morning she was wrong and Byron's voice stopped her

"Aria. Sit down"

"Dad, i'm so sorry, i just -"

"How long?" he demanded quietly

"A few months" she sighed

"A FEW MONTHS!" he shouted in a whisper "A FEW MONTHS! Jesus, Aria"

"Um"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was afraid"

"Afraid of what?"

"Of your reaction. That something would happen to us because of it, you're in Syracuse with Deb and i hardly see you, why would i want to ruin seeing you a few days every month for this. You mean so much to me"

"You should have told me. He should have told me"

"I know, i'm sorry. To be fair, we didn't tell anyone" 'Anyone that aren't our closest friends or family' she thought to herself

"Does he treat you right?"

"He's a real gentleman - takes me out, respects me, listens to me. He loves me"

Byron's mind was swirling with so many thoughts. He was thankful that Aria had started seeing him years after she left school and had found someone who suit her perfectly - when he saw Ezra at the pizza parlour he knew he recognised that bag and since then he too thought of Ezra and Aria as a couple but the thought escaped his mind but was still afraid she was in over her head

"Are you safe?"

"DADDY!" Talk about awkward

"Are you? Your mother isn't here and it's my duty to make sure you're safe in all aspects"

"Yes"

Finding it too awkward, Byron stood and disposed his coffee mug in the sink and prepared to walk out "Invite him over for lunch"

* * *

"Absolutely not… No way, Aria. No" she repeated over the phone

Aria was sitting on the porch steps and recalling what happened to Ezra, including her dad's extended invitation

"Yes, Ezra, yes, yes, yes" she groaned for the umpteenth time this conversation

"Aria, i hate to say this but can you please not say 'yes' that many times, in that way unless we're _together_"

"Ezra."

"Okay, okay" she breathed in relief "It's still a no."

"Why?"

"Well let's see, last night i kissed you in front of your dad and revealed our relationship and oh there's the part where i had sex with you in the bathroom during the reception. My conversation with your father will go down oh so well, don't you think? I'm practically asking to be punched in the face"

"Do we want a repeat of the last time you said no to me?"

"No" he resigned

"See you at 2" she hung up the phone with a triumphant smirk on her face

* * *

Knocking on the door waiting for Aria to open, Ezra stood nervously attempting to lose the creases on his pants and shirt.

The doorknob turned and instead of finding Aria, he found the man himself, Byron Montgomery

"Oh shit" he whispered

"Ezra" Byron nodded

Staring past Byron, Ezra found Aria standing on the bottom step with a mischievous grin on her face. That little -

"Would you like to come in or are you going to continue standing outside my door like you've just been exposed of having a relationship with my daughter and are afraid of my reaction?" Byron kinked his eyebrow trying not to laugh

"Um - I - uh" Ezra stuttered trying to find the right words to say

"I'm just playing" Byron laughed and turned to leave "Come in"

"Did he just?" Ezra said after Aria engulfed him with a hug and pointed to Byron's retreating figure

"Well done baby, i was so sure you were going to cry" she laughed

"That's naughty, Miss Montgomery"

She leaned up to his ear and whispered "Well i guess i need to do something to make it up to you, Mr Fitz"

He breathed out heavily trying to stay calm

"EZRA! COME TO THE BACK!" he heard Byron yell

"So… Ezra" Byron attempted to make conversation while flipping the meat grilling on the barbeque

"Mmhm?"

"I see you're dating my daughter… Literally… At my own wedding"

"Well uh"

"You know, Ezra, i like you. You worked alongside both me and Ella, you taught Aria, you're currently teaching Mike and through all that time we saw the good in you. But here's the thing, that's my baby girl, one bad move on your part; if i even hear her crying, so help you God you will be. Dead. Meat" he lifted the tongs, a piece of chicken on the end for further emphasis, what's wrong with a little imagery

Ezra gulped. Loudly.

"But hey, i'm sure you'll be fine. Let's go inside"

"So what do you think's happening outside?" Aria asked Deb who was putting the finishing touches onto the table

"Aria, stop stressing. It's your dad we're talking about"

"Exactly, do you not see how this could go wrong so quickly?"

"This is the man who's never even hurt a fly, i promise, Ezra is fine"

Ironically, at that moment Byron walked in with Ezra tucked under his arm.

Normally this picture would be fine but both Deb and Aria saw the tight grip Byron held on onto Ezra's right shoulder and the happy facade Ezra was trying to pull off

"Or not" Deb muttered

"What are we standing around here for, dinner's served"

Byron released Ezra with a loud and sharp blow to the back, a gasp emitting Ezra's lips, a horrified look passing his face

"You two look so cute" Deb cooed as she watched Aria and Ezra sit side by side at the Montgomery kitchen table, Ezra squirming in his seat under Byron's watch and Aria giggling trying to settle him

"So when are you two leaving, Deb?" Aria asked

"Hmmm in a few hours. Brooke and Lucas are coming for the latter of lunch to see us off before they leave back to Tree Hill"

Ezra felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders at the mention of Lucas being there, maybe now the pressure will be relieved from him

"Where are you going?" Ezra pitched

"He isn't telling me anything, can you believe him?" Deb laughed "I told him it has to be somewhere sunny though so hopefully two months in the Bahamas wooh"

Twenty minutes later, the conversation was going smoothly - no awkwardness, Byron was speaking to Ezra about some of the things he learnt whilst teaching in Syracuse when the doorbell rang

"Brooke, come here, you look great" Byron hugged her "Lucas, still tall and handsome" he said causing a scoff coming from Ezra which went unnoticed by Deb and Byron

"Come in, come in. Not sure if you met yesterday but Brooke and Lucas, this is Aria's boyfriend, Ezra. Ezra, this is my niece Brooke and her husband, Lucas"

"Two times in the timespace of less than a day, what an honour" Lucas put a hand to his heart before pulling Ezra into a manly hug before doing the same with Aria

"Do you two know each other?" Byron inquired

"Ezra here my baby cousin"

"I hate you" Ezra whispered lowly with his head bowed, the group laughing in response

"So Lucas, you can probably tell us all embarrassing stories of Ezra here?"

"Oh, plenty. From the top of my head, there was this one time when - "

"Please God, no"

"Don't be rude, Ezra. Sorry, what were you saying" Aria continued "Go sit in the loungeroom and we'll grab you some food"

They sat and shared countless embarrassing stories of themselves, mainly Ezra, until Byron stood to say it was time for he and Deb to farewell everyone before their cab arrived

"Aria, come here" he ushered her away from everyone "Aria i know i used to leave you for few weeks at a time but this is longer and more serious. Don't forget you have Mike to take care of so don't desert him while going off to see Ezra okay, take him out, heck take him and Ezra out, i don't care, but now that you have a boyfriend don't forget your responsibilities. That reminds me, you need to pick Mike up from his friends house tonight and drop him off before the bus leaves for this lacrosse game. That should be it; uh… emergency numbers are on the fridge, i love you sweetie, remember that, always. BYE EVERYONE!" a chorus of "BYE!" rang through the air

Saying bye to Byron and his new wife wasn't so hard for Aria to do. Two months with no parents, woo.

Returning to Lucas and Brooke cuddled on the couch, his hand sprawled across Brooke's growing stomach, Aria settled in Ezra's embrace

"So when are you two leaving?" she asked

"Tryna get rid of us?" Lucas teased "Our flight's tomorrow night so you have more than a full day of my presence left, aint that great?"

"Not really" she said causing Lucas to become speechless, usually it was Ezra who would cut him down jokingly but this… This sure was something else.

Ezra proudly leaned down and pecked Aria's lips "Well done baby"

"Actually, we need to visit the doctor's office tomorrow. I've been feeling a bit off and the closest opening they have for me is tomorrow afternoon, would you two mind watching the kids for a few hours, i promise they're angels" Brooke rambled

"REALLY?!" Aria squealed "Oh my God. Yes. Yes. YES!"

"What about you, man?" Lucas asked

"Yeah, i have a day off tomorrow so that should be fine unless your little minions decide it'll be fun to 'play' hide and seek, wait so long that i fall asleep and then tie me to the chair"

"So it's settled then"


End file.
